What's at Stake in Turkey's Municipal Elections

Turkey's March 31 municipal elections will likely see the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the opposition both focus on infrastructure improvements, but a strong showing for the AKP will likely increase government confidence in a constitutional referendum vote to secure another term for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The municipal elections include key races in the opposition-held Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey's two largest cities. The two cities switched from AKP mayors in the 2014 municipal elections to opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) mayors in the 2019 elections. However, the opposition coalition, the Nation Alliance, that led to the election of CHP mayors in Istanbul and Ankara fragmented after the May 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections, in which President Erdogan was re-elected. As a result, parties that were part of the Nation Alliance and those that had struck deals with the CHP, such as the Iyi Party and the pro-Kurdish...