In Turkey’s local elections, the main opposition party won big in Istanbul and Ankara.
This was a surprise and a loss for President Erdogan, who wanted to win these cities again. He had just started his third term as president.
Erdogan’s party lost, even in his hometown, to a leader of a secular party who got more than half the votes.
This is the first time Erdogan’s party has lost a local election in his 21 years of leading. In the capital, Ankara, the opposition mayor, Mansur Yavas, won with about 60% of the votes.
The opposition party, the Republican People’s Party, might also win in other big cities like Izmir, Bursa, Adana, and Antalya.
President Erdogan said this loss is a new start, not the end, and he will accept what the voters decided.
Ozgur Ozel, a leader of the opposition party, said the election results are a big change. He thanked the voters for wanting a different kind of politics.