Things to know about the Turkish local elections that will gauge Erdogan’s popularity

By SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — On Sunday, millions of voters in Turkey head to the polls to elect mayors and administrators in local elections which will gauge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s popularity as his ruling party tries to win back key cities it lost five years ago. A victory for Erdogan’s party might spur the Turkish leader into pursuing constitutional changes that could allow him to rule beyond his current term’s limit. Meanwhile, retaining the key cities’ municipalities would help invigorate Turkey’s opposition which was left fractured and demoralized following a defeat in last year’s presidential election.