Turkiye's Erdogan meets opposition leader for first time in 8 years

Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with the leader of the main opposition CHP party today, the first such meeting in nearly eight years, just one month after the CHP outperformed Erdogan’s party in local elections, Reuters reports. The 31 March vote marked Erdogan and his AK Party’s (AKP) worst defeat in more than 20 years in power. It revitalised the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) under new chief Ozgur Ozel, and strengthened Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s standing as a strong future presidential contender. Erdogan subsequently vowed to correct any mistakes that had led to his party’s defeat, which analysts attributed mainly to voter frustration with economic woes, especially soaring inflation. Ozel entered the AKP headquarters in Ankara just […]