Turkey’s Erdogan Says Party to Self-Critique After Local Election Losses

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said early on Monday that his ruling alliance did not achieve the desired result from Sunday’s local elections, adding they would carry out self-criticism and address shortcomings.

Turks punished Erdogan and his party on Sunday in nationwide local elections, dashing the president’s hopes of regaining the municipalities in Istanbul and Ankara that the opposition won in 2019.

Speaking to supporters in Ankara, Erdogan said the elections were not an end but rather a turning point for his alliance, and added that the election cycle, dating back to last May and which exhausted Turkey’s economy, was now over.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Ece Toksabay and Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)

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