Turkish voters punish Erdogan in local elections

STORY: Turkey's opposition claimed major victories in nationwide local elections on Sunday.

Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu cruised to re-election, handily beating a candidate from President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party.

Imamoglu's Republican People's Party - or CHP - also notched wins in the capital, Ankara, and nine other mayoral seats in large cities.

President Erdogan has ruled Turkey for nearly two decades, and polls had predicted a tight contest in Istanbul and possible CHP losses across the country.

But analysts said Erdogan and the AKP fared worse than polls predicted due to soaring inflation, dissatisfied Islamist voters, and, in Istanbul, Imamoglu's appeal beyond the CHP's secular base.

Sunday's results reinforce Imamoglu's reputation as a potential presidential rival to Erdogan.

In Istanbul, which had opened nearly 80 percent of ballot boxes, Imamoglu had just over 50 percent support compared with just over 40 percent for the AKP challenger, a former minister in Erdogan's national government.