| Summary/Abstract |
The March 31 municipal elections in Turkey produced numerous surprises, as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered losses in the country's three largest cities: Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. On the other hand, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the powerful leader of the conservative Islamo‐Turkish nationalist movement and himself a former mayor of Istanbul, emerged with a “victory”: 44 percent of the total vote. Its ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), won 7 percent. Yet, Erdoğan's losses extended well beyond Turkey's three largest cities to include Antalya, Adana, Mersin and many others. The results in Istanbul are symbolic: the president's rise to political power began there. He won the mayoral elections in 1994 with a plurality (barely more than 25 percent), promising to address critical urban infrastructure issues including water, traffic logistics and pollution.
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