04/19/2019 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – Turkey’s local election recounts was completed on Wednesday, and the main opposition party candidate was officially declared mayor of Istanbul. This represents a significant setback for President Erdogan’s AK Party, who has controlled Istanbul for 25 years. The AK Party is appealing the election results.

The new Metropolitan Mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, took office on April 17^th. During his inaugural speech, he vowed to bring peace back to Istanbul and to cease treating people differently based on their religion and ethnicity. He specifically named Christians and other religious minorities, vowing that he “will never let anyone treat you unjustly.” He encouraged his followers to seek out those with different opinions and shake their hands.

İmamoğlu’s rhetoric stands in stark difference to the rhetoric used by President Erdogan and the AK Party. The president has been strongly criticized for his polarizing policies which seek to tear apart the social fabric of Turkish society. His party suffered significant losses during the local elections, which was widely viewed as a referendum on the president’s policies. It is yet to be seen on how the president will attempt to reassert control over the lost electoral seats.

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