Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) may have secured a rerun of Istanbul’s mayoral race to try to reverse its defeat in March, but it has had little to celebrate ahead of the critical vote, with economic woes sinking consumer confidence to record lows.
The AKP’s election scores over the years show that the party has suffered setbacks in times of plunging consumer confidence. Turkey today is in the midst of a serious economic downturn that is hitting hard, especially in Istanbul, the country’s biggest city and economic hub.