On March 31, local elections were held in Turkey. It is now known that voters have restored the opposition as a political force and strengthened Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu - the candidate already has a 10% advantage, making him Erdogan's main rival.

It is reported by Reuters.

It is noted that after the majority of votes were counted, Imamoglu won by a margin of 10% in the fight for the mayor of Istanbul. At the same time, his Republican People's Party (CHP) was able to retain Ankara, gaining 15 other mayoral seats in cities nationwide.

Reuters points out that this was the worst defeat for Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in more than two decades of being in power. It is believed that this could signal a change in the country's divided political landscape. Erdogan himself called it a "turning point" in his address.

Analysts believe that Erdogan and his party did worse than opinion polls had predicted, likely due to a sharp rise in inflation, dissatisfied voters, and, in Istanbul in particular, Imamoglu's appeal outside the CHP.

According to 92.92% of the ballot boxes already opened in Istanbul, Imamoglu received 50.92% of support compared to 40.05% for candidate Murat Kurum, a former minister in Erdogan's national government.

"Those who do not understand the nation's message will eventually lose," Imamoglu told his supporters on Sunday evening.

Overall, the results showed that the CHP garnered nearly 1% of the vote nationwide, the first time in 35 years. Mert Arslanalp, assistant professor of political science at Istanbul's Bogazici University, said it was Erdogan's "severest election defeat" since coming to power:

"Imamoglu demonstrated he could reach across the deep socio-political divisions that define Turkey's opposition electorate even without their institutional support. This makes him the most politically competitive rival to Erdogan's regime."

Earlier, "Apostrophe" wrote that banks in Turkey stopped cooperation with Russian clients.