Turkey elections

A protestor holds a placard of Istanbul's detained Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as they listen to the leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Ozgur Ozel during a rally protesting the 100th day of his detention at Sarachane Square in Istanbul on July 1, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey detains 30 as government crackdown on opposition deepens: What to know

Detainees include officials from Istanbul and Antalya municipalities and their family members as part of an ongoing corruption investigation into the Republican People’s Party (CHP) that critics say is politically motivated.

An undated image of Enes Hocaogullari.

Turkey arrests youth delegate over Council of Europe address: What to know

The youth activist’s arrest adds to Ankara’s growing isolation as Turkey faces suspension from Europe’s top human rights body.

Mazlum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria, on April 26, 2025.

Analysis

Emboldened by Suwayda fallout, Syria’s Kurds hold their ground with Damascus

The Suwayda crisis boosts Kurdish confidence and threatens Erdogan’s bid to secure Kurdish support for a third term.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - JUNE 25: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) speaks with President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), as they arrive for the North Atlantic Council Plenary Session on the second day of the 2025 NATO Summit on June 25, 2025 in The Hague, Netherlands. Among other matters, members are to approve a new defense investment plan that raises the target for defense spending to 5% of GDP. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Analysis

From Caucasus to Iraq: How Israel’s war hands Turkey edge over Iran

After the war with Israel, a wounded Iran opens new doors for Turkey from Iraq to the Caucasus, but advancing its agenda could rekindle their rivalry.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Latest News

Turkey's spy chief heads for Iraq as PKK militants prepare to disarm

An Iraqi Kurdish man holds a flag with the portrait of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a demonstration in the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah on Oct. 10, 2019 against the Turkish offensive in northeastern Syria.

Analysis

Erdogan’s long game: How CHP court case could cripple Turkey’s opposition

Leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Ozgur Ozel addresses the audience during a rally in Istanbul on April 9, 2025.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Turkey's Erdogan vows justice amid rage over alleged Prophet Muhammad cartoon

Protesters hold placards as they demonstrate against cartoonists of a satirical magazine following allegations that it had published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, outside Taksim mosque in Istanbul on July 1, 2025.

Turkish prosecutors probe main opposition leader Ozel, oust mayors

Ozgur Ozel, head of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), gestures toward supporters during a rally in support of arrested Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Ankara, April 23, 2025.

A Turkish flag, with the New and the Suleymaniye mosques in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Turkey, April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1B6C6E4270

Intel: How Turkey just shattered many voters' already fractured trust in their democracy

Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council today annulled the results of local elections in Istanbul, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered a historic defeat just over a month ago.

Boys' rescue from forest provides bright spot for Turks

The rescue of two boys, ages 4 and 5, from a forest brought a modicum of hope the day after May Day to Turkish union members and others who have seen their buying power dwindle and are still seeing the nation's governing party trying to reverse the results of the March 31 Istanbul mayor election.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a rally of Justice and Development Party (AK Party) as part of the local election campaign in Ankara, Turkey, on March 28, 2019. - Local elections in Turkey's capital and the country's overall 81 provinces are scheduled for March 31, 2019. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey’s electoral commission keeps public guessing over Istanbul result

Turkey's Supreme Electoral Commission has given into some the ruling party's demands in Istanbul, where a post-game battle is raging over the mayorship.

A stallholder reads a newspaper as he waits for customers at a bazaar in Ankara, Turkey, March 26, 2019. Picture taken March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC14A18DA6D0

Why did pro-government media fail Erdogan?

Erdogan’s choice of press corps for his Russia trip suggests that a more hawkish faction among the pro-AKP media is likely to gain access to the president’s ear.

A voter casts a ballot at a polling station during the municipal elections in Istanbul, Turkey, March 31, 2019. REUTERS/Huseyin Aldemir - RC1927A46580

Intel: Turkey’s future hinges on electoral commission's decision on Istanbul rerun

Supporters of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) celebrate municipal elections results in Diyarbakir, Turkey, March 31, 2019. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RC19430E56D0

Turkish election board disqualifies pro-Kurdish mayors in southeast

While Turkey awaits an official decision in the Istanbul mayor's race, electoral authorities void HDP victories in Diyarbakir and elsewhere in the southeast.

Sudanís President Omar al-Bashir welcomes Turkey's†President†Tayyip Erdogan at Khartoum Airport, Sudan December 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1F19ED0F80

Turkey's Erdogan loses ally with Bashir's ouster in Sudan

The overthrow of Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir after 30 years in power should be making other autocrats such as Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan nervous.

Supporters of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) celebrate municipal elections results in Diyarbakir, Turkey, March 31, 2019. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RC174F6B2F50

How the Kurdish factor had a boomerang effect in Erdogan's election defeat

Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party played a key role in Erdogan’s defeats in big cities in the local polls, managing to get its voters to back mayoral candidates from the main opposition bloc while sitting out the races.

Supporters of AK Party stand in front of a billboard picturing Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in Istanbul, Turkey March 31, 2019. REUTERS/Kemal Aslan - RC17147821E0

Ruling party to seek new election in Istanbul

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party said it is filing an appeal to cancel the results of the Istanbul mayoral election, citing irregularities, after the vote recount it sought has so far failed to change the outcome that saw it lose its longtime control of Turkey’s biggest city.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a news briefing following the talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia April 8, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC14E4FB8380

Turkey in for 'hard time' following Erdogan election losses

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is likely to find it more difficult to govern effectively after having lost Turkey's major cities in local elections.

Turkey’s only communist mayor scores another election victory

Turkey’s first and only communist mayor beat heavyweight rivals in the March 31 local elections, marking another milestone in his extraordinary political journey.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, talk to each other during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, April 4, 2019. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC197C470650

Putin plays Syria card in Israeli, Turkish elections

Russian President Vladimir Putin may be the winner with regard to his influence in Syria.