Erdogan loses key cities in Turkey local election

The party of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lost control of the capital, Ankara, in local elections in a setback to his 16 years in power.

The opposition is also ahead in the contest for mayor of the largest city, Istanbul, the election commission says.

Turkish media said the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate Mansur Yavas had won a clear victory in Ankara but there was a tense standoff in Istanbul as both the opposition and the AK Party claimed victory in the polls due to a narrow margin.

Nationally, the president's AKP-led alliance has won more than 51% of the vote in the municipal elections.

The vote, see as a verdict on Erdogan's rule has been taking place during an economic downturn.

The currency, the lira, has been losing value recently and the economy went into recession in the last three months of 2018.

The president had previously said the poll was about the "survival" of the country and his party.

Istanbul has been in the hands of parties linked to Erdogan since 1994 when he was elected the city's mayor.

The election commission said the CHP's Ekrem Imamoglu was leading there by only 28,000 votes, but added that the results of more than 80 ballot boxes were being challenged.

Commenting on the results in a speech on Sunday, he said: "If there are any shortcomings, it is our duty to correct them."

More than 57 million people in the country were registered to vote for mayors and councillors. State-run Anadolu news agency said turnout was high at just under 85%.

Erdogan said he would now turn his attention to fixing the economy without compromising free market rules ahead of a national election scheduled for 2023.

"We have a long period ahead where we will carry out economic reforms without compromising on the rules of the free-market economy,” Erdogan said.

Last week, Erdogan blamed the country's economic woes on attacks by the West.

The president has also pointed the finger at interest rates and said if the central bank lowers them, price pressures will come down too and that Turkey would overcome its troubles following Sunday’s vote.