Turkey’s opposition hopes for a shake-up in local elections

Things are not good for the Good (or IYI, in Turkish) Party. Two years ago, having broken off from Turkey’s main nationalist bloc, the party had a full head of steam, polling at nearly 20%. The opposition alliance it joined seemed poised to give Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, and his governing coalition a run for their money. But on the eve of local elections set for March 31st, Good is imploding. Support for the party has slipped to single digits. After a disappointing result in last year’s general elections, its alliance with the Republican People’s Party (CHP) has come apart. Senior party officials and lawmakers are leaving Good in droves.

The local elections for mayors and city councils will almost inevitably see Mr Erdogan’s Justice and Development (AK) party prevail in most parts of the country. But in Istanbul, the motor of Turkey’s $1trn economy, the race may come down to the wire. Neither the Goods nor the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), the country’s main Kurdish bloc, have a chance of winning the city. But the few percentage points their candidates are bound to receive may cost Ekrem Imamoglu, the incumbent mayor, the election. Mr Imamoglu, of the CHP, is ahead in most polls, but not by much.