AKP’s confidence hit by boost in CHP votes
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Hürriyet Daily News
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Mart 31, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Although Kadir Topbaş holds his throne as Istanbul mayor, his party’s head-to-head fight with the main opposition CHP mayoral candidate ends in a close result, highlighting a significant drop in the ruling AKP’s support. AKP looses to CHP in 5 districts.
The confidence of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, was seriously shaken Sunday in Istanbul, traditionally seen as one of the party’s strongholds. Â
The AKP saw a decrease in its votes in this weekend’s local elections, while its main opposition, the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, increased its total from 28.9 percent in the 2004 local elections to 36.9 percent on Sunday. The AKP lost to the CHP in Sarıyer, on the European side of the city, and in Kartal, Maltepe and Silivri on the Anatolian side.
In Sarıyer, the CHP increased its votes to 37 percent from 25 percent with candidate Şükrü Genç. The results showed that district residents were not content with the current AKP municipality and saw the CHP as a viable alternative.
A resident of the Hisarüstü quarter in Sarıyer told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Sunday that although he did not trust the CHP that much, he would vote for it just to get rid of AKP rule over the district. A Sarıyer pharmacist who asked to remain anonymous said that the AKP-led municipality favored only its followers, ignoring other residents.
To Oral Çalışlar, a columnist for daily Radikal, Istanbul has become the city where the CHP achieved its best results in the election. He interpreted the election results as Istanbul voters warning the AKP, but not giving it up.
The overall performance of the CHP in Turkey was reflected in Istanbul since the city, populated by over 12 million people, is a microcosm of the country. Just as the CHP won the coastal cities in western Turkey, it also did well in Istanbul’s coastal districts, including Sarıyer, Silivri, Maltepe, Kartal and the Adalar, or Princes’ Islands.
"This is the AKP’s most significant handicap. Although it has not lost critical support in Turkey in general, it cannot get the support of elites living in the coastal part of Turkey," said Professor Eser Karakaş, an academic from Bahçeşehir University. "This is visible in Istanbul too."
In the Silivri district, the AKP lost to the CHP despite the ruling party increasing its votes from 34 percent to 39 percent. Silivri voters clearly showed their support for the CHP, increasing its votes to 46 percent from 29 percent in the last local elections.
In Kartal, the CHP managed to increase its support to 32 percent from 29 percent, holding onto the administration in the industrial district, where a planned futuristic-type urban-city environment is scheduled for construction.
On the Adalar, the CHP was victorious with 53 percent of votes as its candidate, Mustafa FarsakoÄŸlu, beat an AKP rival who had served in the administration over the last five years.
The CHP maintained its leadership in Kadıköy, Bakırköy, Beşiktaş and Avcılar, increasing its vote ratio in all these districts.
Change in voters’ behavior
According to Evren Hoşgör, an academic from Istanbul Bilgi University’s Political Science Department, the AKP’s mismanagement of the economic crisis, the party’s reluctance to offer a rescue package and its ignoring of the deaths of workers in the unsecure shipyards in Tuzla, Istanbul, reflected on the election results.
Also, the CHP based its campaigns on social policies this time in contrast to the AKP’s neoliberal policies, which helped the former to be effective in the slums too, said Hoşgör. However, the AKP still enjoys significant support from those segments.
Apart from the economic factors, ideology also played a role in voter’s behavior.
Ertan Aydın, an expert from Pollmark Research Company, said yesterday on private TV channel CNNTürk that the opposition party supporters paid more attention to their party’s ideology than the AKP supporters did.
Adil Gür, the head of A&G Research Company, said their survey showed that ideology was decisive for the voters of the CHP, the Nationalistic Movement Party, or MHP, Felicity Party, or SP, and especially the Democratic Society Party, or DTP unlike supporters of the AKP.
Beykoz, a district where discontent has set in as unemployment increased in recent years, the AKP’s support dropped to around 37 percent from 42 percent. The CHP increased its support to 32 percent from the 28 percent. Beykoz is however a good example showing that the AKP did not lose votes only to the CHP, but also to the MHP and the SP. The MHP increased its votes to 11.7 percent from 3 percent, while the SP’s support rose to 10 percent from 6 percent in the Beykoz district located on the shores of the Anatolia side of Istanbul.
In some districts, the AKP lost support but not the administration, one such district was the historical Üsküdar. AKP votes fell to 37 percent from 43 percent in the traditionally conservative district. The CHP, however, increased its support to 29 percent from 23 percent in the district that has emerged in recent years as a magnet for the country’s more conservative segments. The famous comedian, Levent Kırca, candidate for the Democratic Left Party, or DSP, managed to increase the DSP’s votes slightly to 4 percent, up from 1 percent in the last local elections.
The AKP saw a decrease in its votes in this weekend’s local elections, while its main opposition, the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, increased its total from 28.9 percent in the 2004 local elections to 36.9 percent on Sunday. The AKP lost to the CHP in Sarıyer, on the European side of the city, and in Kartal, Maltepe and Silivri on the Anatolian side.
In Sarıyer, the CHP increased its votes to 37 percent from 25 percent with candidate Şükrü Genç. The results showed that district residents were not content with the current AKP municipality and saw the CHP as a viable alternative.
A resident of the Hisarüstü quarter in Sarıyer told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Sunday that although he did not trust the CHP that much, he would vote for it just to get rid of AKP rule over the district. A Sarıyer pharmacist who asked to remain anonymous said that the AKP-led municipality favored only its followers, ignoring other residents.
To Oral Çalışlar, a columnist for daily Radikal, Istanbul has become the city where the CHP achieved its best results in the election. He interpreted the election results as Istanbul voters warning the AKP, but not giving it up.
The overall performance of the CHP in Turkey was reflected in Istanbul since the city, populated by over 12 million people, is a microcosm of the country. Just as the CHP won the coastal cities in western Turkey, it also did well in Istanbul’s coastal districts, including Sarıyer, Silivri, Maltepe, Kartal and the Adalar, or Princes’ Islands.
"This is the AKP’s most significant handicap. Although it has not lost critical support in Turkey in general, it cannot get the support of elites living in the coastal part of Turkey," said Professor Eser Karakaş, an academic from Bahçeşehir University. "This is visible in Istanbul too."
In the Silivri district, the AKP lost to the CHP despite the ruling party increasing its votes from 34 percent to 39 percent. Silivri voters clearly showed their support for the CHP, increasing its votes to 46 percent from 29 percent in the last local elections.
In Kartal, the CHP managed to increase its support to 32 percent from 29 percent, holding onto the administration in the industrial district, where a planned futuristic-type urban-city environment is scheduled for construction.
On the Adalar, the CHP was victorious with 53 percent of votes as its candidate, Mustafa FarsakoÄŸlu, beat an AKP rival who had served in the administration over the last five years.
The CHP maintained its leadership in Kadıköy, Bakırköy, Beşiktaş and Avcılar, increasing its vote ratio in all these districts.
Change in voters’ behavior
According to Evren Hoşgör, an academic from Istanbul Bilgi University’s Political Science Department, the AKP’s mismanagement of the economic crisis, the party’s reluctance to offer a rescue package and its ignoring of the deaths of workers in the unsecure shipyards in Tuzla, Istanbul, reflected on the election results.
Also, the CHP based its campaigns on social policies this time in contrast to the AKP’s neoliberal policies, which helped the former to be effective in the slums too, said Hoşgör. However, the AKP still enjoys significant support from those segments.
Apart from the economic factors, ideology also played a role in voter’s behavior.
Ertan Aydın, an expert from Pollmark Research Company, said yesterday on private TV channel CNNTürk that the opposition party supporters paid more attention to their party’s ideology than the AKP supporters did.
Adil Gür, the head of A&G Research Company, said their survey showed that ideology was decisive for the voters of the CHP, the Nationalistic Movement Party, or MHP, Felicity Party, or SP, and especially the Democratic Society Party, or DTP unlike supporters of the AKP.
Beykoz, a district where discontent has set in as unemployment increased in recent years, the AKP’s support dropped to around 37 percent from 42 percent. The CHP increased its support to 32 percent from the 28 percent. Beykoz is however a good example showing that the AKP did not lose votes only to the CHP, but also to the MHP and the SP. The MHP increased its votes to 11.7 percent from 3 percent, while the SP’s support rose to 10 percent from 6 percent in the Beykoz district located on the shores of the Anatolia side of Istanbul.
In some districts, the AKP lost support but not the administration, one such district was the historical Üsküdar. AKP votes fell to 37 percent from 43 percent in the traditionally conservative district. The CHP, however, increased its support to 29 percent from 23 percent in the district that has emerged in recent years as a magnet for the country’s more conservative segments. The famous comedian, Levent Kırca, candidate for the Democratic Left Party, or DSP, managed to increase the DSP’s votes slightly to 4 percent, up from 1 percent in the last local elections.