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.

Istanbul on brink of bankruptcy

Turkish President Erdogan has repeatedly said, “If we lose Istanbul, we lose Turkey,” but he indeed may have lost it electorally and in terms of financial accountability.

Turkish marines on board the TCG Bayraktar (L-402) take part in a landing drill during the Blue Homeland naval exercise off the Aegean coastal town of Foca in Izmir Bay, Turkey March 5, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1C494881A0

Local election results will complicate Turkey’s security choices

Despite electoral losses suffered by the alliance led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the nationalists in that alliance were able to improve their standing, which will surely affect Erdogan's future security choices.

Ekrem Imamoglu, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate for mayor of Istanbul, greets his supporters in Istanbul, Turkey April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Huseyin Aldemir - RC14DDA83790

Istanbul mayoral front-runner retains lead during recount

Ekrem Imamoglu, the opposition candidate for mayor, says it’s impossible for his opponent to overtake him, but supporters of the ruling party’s Binali Yildirim say their man will win if the recount is expanded.

Skyscrapers are seen in the business and financial district of Levent, which comprises of leading banks' and companies' headquarters, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 29, 2019. Picture taken March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1956F82330

The economic balance sheet of Turkey’s local elections

The ruling party's loss of major economic centers in local elections deprives it of major resources amid a bruising economic crisis.

Supporters of Ekrem Imamoglu, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate for mayor of Istanbul, wait for him to visit Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in Ankara, Turkey, April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1294858620

Leader in Istanbul mayor's race worries about vote manipulation in recount

A recount in the Istanbul mayor's race has seen opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu's lead fall from 23,000 to 21,500 over Binali Yildirim of the ruling Justice and Development Party; Imamoglu and others fear the electoral council might tamper with the results.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine greet supporters in Ankara, Turkey April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC186E18F620

Local election defeat bodes more foreign woes for Erdogan

The irreparable setback Turkey’s president suffered in the March 31 municipal polls, coupled with the country’s economic crisis, leaves him in a weaker position vis-a-vis Washington, Moscow and the European Union.

Turkey’s state-run news agency under fire for irregular poll coverage

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency is under fire for its bizarre coverage of the Istanbul mayoral race, during which the agency stopped reporting polling results when it became clear the opposition was bound for victory.

People walk past by AK Party billboards with pictures of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and mayoral candidate Binali Yildirim in Istanbul, Turkey, April 1, 2019. The billboards read: " Thank you Istanbul ". REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1FFDD2DBA0

Will local election defeat force Erdogan to improve ties with West?

Turkey needs better ties with the United States and Europe to heal the ailing Turkish economy, but experts are not optimistic that Erdogan will do this.

Ekrem Imamoglu, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate for mayor of Istanbul, visits Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, as he is flanked by his family members and supporters in Ankara, Turkey, April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC192AED7890

Turkey’s milestone elections shatter Erdogan’s air of invincibility

Turkey's local elections on March 31 broke the glass ceiling for the Turkish opposition, ending the perception that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is invincible.

People queue to vote at a polling station during the municipal elections in Istanbul, Turkey, March 31, 2019. REUTERS/Huseyin Aldemir - RC19D7442440

Intel: How Turkey's local elections mark rebuke for Erdogan's one-man rule

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party appears to have lost control of city hall in Ankara and may lose Istanbul as well, where unofficial results put the opposition slightly ahead.

People walk past an election poster bearing the picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and reading "Istanbul is a love story for us", in front of the Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul, on March 26, 2019, ahead of March 31 local elections. - Turkish President on March 24 mooted the possibility of renaming Istanbul's Hagia Sofia museum as a mosque, in comments during a television interview. The museum, a UNESCO World Heritage site, receives millions of visitors every year. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AF

What caused Erdogan’s change of heart on Hagia Sophia?

Turkey’s president has pledged to change the status of Istanbul’s landmark Hagia Sophia to a mosque, going back on his previous objections to such a move and raising questions whether the pledge is merely a populist gesture ahead of elections or something more.

A woman walks past a banner for the upcoming local elections in Ankara, Turkey, March 27, 2019. Banner with pictures of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Devlet Bahceli, leader of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), reads: "People's Alliance: The unity of common sense." REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC14BCF5B7C0

Turkey's endless election cycle

With Turkey's imminent local elections, the opposition camp is split between hopeful optimists and cynical pessimists.