The 2019 municipal elections in Turkey: a democratic earthquake

Abstract

The 2019 municipal election had surprising consequences for both the incumbent and opposition actors in Turkey. The main opposition party won both Ankara and Istanbul for the first time in 25 years and swept the coastal provinces of the West and south. The Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) integrative coalition umbrella of secular-urban nationalists and Kurdish voters had a significant impact in winning in the west. Furthermore, the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) political and electoral survival has come under question for the first time in years. If the CHP-won municipalities can take democratizing steps and perform well in local politics, the balance of power in the existing Turkish party system could radically change in favor of democratizing Turkey in the medium run.