The Republican People’s Party, the largest Turkish opposition party, may lose local elections. The ruling Justice and Development Party seeks to regain control of the municipalities of Istanbul and Ankara.
The party is divided into three wings: a wing that supports the current party leader, Ozgur Ozal. A wing that owes allegiance to Akram Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, and another to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the former head of the party. In addition to the revolution of February 6, thousands of deportees who were ignored by the party leadership were not re-nominated again and attributed to the existence of an organized campaign.