Erdogan’s party takes solid lead in Turkey’s local elections – preliminary results

Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) has taken a solid lead in Sunday’s local elections, getting over 46 percent of votes, preliminary results indicate. The closest competitor – the social-democratic Republican People's Party (CHP) – has garnered support of around 30 percent of voters. As of 10pm local time, around 75 percent of ballot boxes had been opened. Quite surprisingly, the opposition party maintains a narrow lead in Ankara. Traditionally the Turkish capital has shown strong support towards AKP, led by the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.