Turkish opposition set to retain major cities, preliminary results show

Turkey's main opposition party appeared set to retain its control over key cities in Sunday's local elections, preliminary results showed, in a major upset to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had set his sights on retaking control of those urban areas. 

With some 40% of the ballot boxes counted, incumbent Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, of the Republican People's Party, or CHP, was leading in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city and economic hub, according to state broadcaster TRT. Mansur Yavas, the mayor of the capital Ankara, also appeared poised to retain his seat with a large margin, the results indicated. 

The CHP appeared to be leading in 36 of Turkey's 81 provinces, according to the preliminary results reported by TRT. 

The vote was seen as a barometer of President Erdogan's popularity as he sought to win back control of key urban areas he lost to the opposition in...