The results of the 2014 local elections have shown a vast divergence in party support nationwide, with the AK Party taking the obvious lead. Although the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party has obtained a vast majority of the votes, in three provinces in particular the AK Party's voter support was over 40 percent compared to leading opposition parties.
In the Central Anatolian province of Konya, the Eastern Anatolian region of Malatya and in the eastern Black Sea region of Rize, the AK Party has garnered a whopping 40 percent lead of the vote over rivaling parties.
According to unofficial results, in Konya, a stronghold for the AK Party, votes for the ruling party reached nearly 65 percent, while the trailing closest party MHP only received 18.5 percent of the vote. In Malatya, the AK Party leads with approximately 63 percent of the vote. CHP was the second party to follow, only obtaining near 16 percent of the vote.
In Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's native Rize, the AK Party acquired over 68 percent of the vote, while the Saadet Party followed with 22 percent.
Other standout provinces for the AK Party's success include Trabzon, in which the AK Party lead by 60.5 percent compared to rivaling CHP's 24.5 percent of the vote. In Gaziantep, the AK Party obtained 53.5 percent of the vote, while CHP trailed at 22.65 percent.
