Istanbul reflects Turkish electorate, AK Party leads with a drop

The Justice and Development (AK Party) Party has swept around 41 percent of the votes in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul in the June 7 general elections on Sunday.

A high voter turnout of over 85 percent was reported in Istanbul, during the general elections.

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) followed the AK Party with over 29 percent, while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) received over 11 percent of the votes.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) also received over 12 percent of the votes in Istanbul, an unprecedented surge compared to the previous elections.

The AK Party has lost about eight percent of the votes compared to the 2011 general elections, while the CHP has lost two percent compared to the same year when they received 31 percent of the vote.

The AK Party received 41 percent in Istanbul's first electoral district and will be sending 14 deputies to the Turkish Parliament, while the CHP has received 32 percent and will send 11 deputies to the parliament. The HDP and the MHP will each send three deputies. In District II, the AK Party received over 42 percent and will be sending 12 deputies, while the CHP will send eight deputies with 27.5 percent, followed by three deputies from the HDP and the MHP each. In District III, the AK Party received around 40 percent and will be sending 13 deputies to the parliament, followed by nine deputies from the CHP, five from HDP and 4 from the MHP.

CHP's Istanbul candidate and former Şişli mayor Mustafa Sarıgül, who also ran as a candidate to become Istanbul's mayor in the March 30 local elections in 2014 has failed to win a seat in the parliament.