Newsletters & Press

The result of the municipal elections, held on March 31, gave a first victory to the CHP (social-democratic party, Kemalist left), the main opposition force to the ruling AK Party (justice and development party, conservative right) which thus keeps the main town halls of the country, namely Istanbul and Ankara, and takes over many others, such as Bursa, a large industrial city in the northwest, which was acquired by the AKP since 2004. The CHP thus came out on top nationally, a first in 35 years with a significant abstention from AK Party voters who gave a stern warning to those in power. This victory brings the opposition back into the influential political sphere, knowing that the CHP acted with direct support from the pro-Kurdish DEM party in the majority of big cities. These results show a balance on the political scene knowing that there will be no elections for the next 4 years, which will allow the government's efforts to be concentrated on economic and social reforms.

On the economic front, inflation remains the main concern of the public authorities. The central bank decided to keep its key rate unchanged at 50% on Thursday April 25. The institution had raised its key rate from 8.5% to 45% between June 2023 and January 2024. According to specialists, Türkiye's annual inflation rate reached 68.5% in March and is expected to peak at around 70%. % this quarter before decreasing in the second half and until 2025.

In addition, President Tayyip Erdogan announced that Türkiye will undertake actions to strengthen its medium-term economic program following a meeting with his cabinet. Among the three main priorities are increasing public savings, prioritizing investments and accelerating structural reforms. He also said that economic growth would approach 4% this year, with a positive impact from exports, and forecast that the current account deficit would be 2.5% of GDP at the end of the year.