This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47764393

The article has changed 19 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Turkey local elections: Erdogan to fight for nation's confidence Turkey local elections: Erdogan fights for nation's confidence
(about 3 hours later)
Millions of people in Turkey have begun voting in local elections that are widely being seen as a referendum on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Millions of people are voting in Turkey's local elections, which are widely seen as a referendum on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The poll comes amidst an economic slump, which is expected to impact the choice of his conservative supporters. The poll comes amidst an economic downturn, with the governing AK Party fearing it could lose control of Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey's biggest cities.
The governing AK Party fears it could lose control of Ankara and Istanbul, the country's biggest cities. The country is in recession, inflation is at 20% and the lira has plunged by a third in value, causing bankruptcies.
Turkey is in recession, inflation is at 20% and the lira has plunged by a third, leading to bankruptcies. More than 57 million voters can elect mayors and councillors across Turkey.
Mayors and councillors will be elected across Turkey, with the tightest battles in a handful of cities where opposition parties have come together in a rare act of unity in a polarised country of more than 57 million voters. Mr Erdogan has said the poll is about the "survival" of the country and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has dominated politics for 16 years.
The government says any candidate found to be supporting terror groups will be removed - a clear warning to the pro-Kurdish HDP party, which the president claims backs PKK Kurdish militants, though the party denies it. This will be the first municipal vote since Mr Erdogan assumed sweeping executive powers through last year's presidential election.
Mr Erdogan is facing the fight of his career - he says Sunday's vote is about the "survival" of his party and the country he has dominated for 16 years. How will people vote?
With several high-profile figures unhappy about Mr Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian line, speculation of a party split could be prompted if citizens were to punish the ruling party in the polls. President Erdogan has been Turkey's most popular and most divisive leader in modern history.
However, with the state of the economy after a recent currency crisis and an increase in unemployment and inflation, some voters seem ready to punish Mr Erdogan and AKP in the polls.
"Citizens are suffering because of the economic problems," said one voter to news agency AFP at an opposition rally. "I'm a trader, I'm retired, but I've never seen a downturn like this."
The BBC's Mark Lowen says the AKP is in danger of losing key cities where opposition parties have come together in a rare act of unity in a polarised country.
Polls have shown a tight contest in Ankara between the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) mayoral candidate Mansur Yavas and AKP candidate Mehmet Ozhaseki.
"I was actually not going to vote today," a voter in the capital told Reuters, "but when I saw how much [AKP] are flailing, I thought this might be time to land them a blow."
The 47-year-old added, "Everyone is unhappy. Everyone is struggling."
How was the campaign?
The AKP have won every election since coming to power in 2002, but analysts say this is the first time the party is no longer confident of its success.
With most media either pro-government or controlled by Mr Erdogan's supporters, critics believe opposition parties campaigned at a disadvantage.
The opposition pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said the elections were unfair and refused to put forward candidates in several cities.
Some of its leaders have been jailed on terror charges, accusations they reject.
Mr Erdogan's rallies have dominated TV coverage. At one on Saturday, the president sought to reassure voters and the party's usually conservative supporters that everything was under control.
"I am the boss of the economy right now as president of this country," he said, also blaming the West and particularly the US for its financial turbulence.
The president was criticised for repeatedly showing footage from the recent terror attack in New Zealand, in which a self-declared white supremacist live-streamed himself killing 50 people at two Christchurch mosques.
He warned citizens of those coming to Turkey with anti-Muslim sentiments, sparking a diplomatic row after invoking memories of Turkey's dead in the battle of Gallipoli by Australian and New Zealand forces in 1915.