Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made his first party speech in parliament on Wednesday (April 17) since Turkey’s local elections on March 31, which saw massive losses for his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in municipalities across the country. In his speech, he touched on the election results, arguing that his coalition had emerged from the elections victorious and saying ‘It’s not over until we say it’s over’.
Evaluating the election results from two and a half weeks ago, Erdoğan said “No matter what direction the voters choose, we will accept and welcome it.”
In his speech, Erdoğan identified low turnout as a reason for his party’s poor showing. The local elections saw 78% of eligible voters turn out to the polls, a notable decrease from the 87% seen in the first round of last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections. In Turkey’s previous local elections in 2019, turnout stood at 84%.
Some AKP voters, particularly retirees upset about the president’s failure to hike pension payments, may have chosen to simply stay home, thus penalizing Erdoğan’s party at the polls.
In Wednesday’s speech, Erdoğan also scolded the victorious opposition, saying “They have become spoiled and forgotten that this is just a local election.”
Turkey’s local elections, which elect mayors, city council members, and other municipal figures every five years, are of great importance and are often compared to the midterms in the United States in terms of domestic significance.
Emphasizing his authority in spite of the local losses, Erdoğan said “There is a single ruling government and that is the president and his cabinet…I would invite all those attempting to warp this reality to face the truth.”
Turkey’s southeastern province of Hatay turned out to be one of the AKP’s few successes in the March 31 elections. In a close race, the ruling party took over control of the province from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)’s candidate Lütfü Savas, who had been criticized for his response to the devastating earthquakes in February 2023. Of the 13 provinces affected by the earthquake, Hatay was the hardest hit, with the region’s historic capital of Antakya largely reduced to rubble.
Touching on the AKP’s victory in Hatay, Erdoğan said “Although they [the opposition] tried to slander us and ruin our relationship with Hatay, the people of Hatay showed on March 31st their attitude towards these dirty tricks.”
Although the CHP has filed objections to the AKP’s victory in Hatay, these objections have so far been declined by Turkey’s Supreme Election Council.
“Nothing is over, it will never be over, until we say it’s over. We are the largest party in Turkey. We will fix our flaws and deficiencies and get back to work…We are here, solid and standing tall,” said Erdoğan.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
