Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed victory for his party in local elections, and vowed that his enemies would “pay the price”.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has been accused of authoritarianism and corruption after a string of scandals.

The local elections, the first vote since mass protests last June, were seen as a barometer of his popularity.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was not standing for election but campaigned hard for his Justice and Development Party (AKP).

With over 60% of the votes counted, it was leading the main opposition party 47% to 27%.

The AKP had been aiming to equal or better its 38.8% share of the vote in the last local elections in 2009.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed victory for his party in local elections (photo Mesut Er)

Speaking from a balcony at his party’s headquarters in Ankara, Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked his supporters.

“You stood up for Turkey’s ideals… for politics, for your party and your prime minister,” he said.

But he warned he would “enter the lair” of enemies who had accused him of corruption and leaked state secrets.

“They will pay for this,” he said.

Voting in the local assembly and mayoral elections passed off peacefully in most areas, but eight people were reportedly killed in two separate incidents involving supporters of rival candidates.

Feuding families were said to have clashed in the southern city of Hatay and the eastern province of Sanliurfa.

PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been eyeing a run for the presidency in August – the first time voters will directly elect the head of state – or may seek to change the rules to allow him to seek a fourth term in office.

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Turkey is voting in municipal elections that analysts say could determine the political future of PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

They are the first elections since mass protests erupted last June and a corruption scandal hit the government.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not standing but has campaigned tirelessly in support of his Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The government blocked Twitter and YouTube in the run up to the elections, following a series of online leaks.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said social media was spreading misinformation.

Turkey is voting in municipal elections that analysts say could determine the political future of PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan

On Saturday pro- and anti-government factions held rival demonstrations in Istanbul, which saw the Gezi Park protests of May and June last year.

The opposition Republican People’s Party is fighting there to win the mayor’s office from Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ally Kadir Topbas.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is himself a former mayor of the city and the vote has become an unofficial referendum on his administration, our correspondent says.

The prime minister lashed out at his political opponents during a series of rallies on Saturday.

“They are all traitors,” he told the crowd in Istanbul.

“Go to the ballot box tomorrow and teach all of them a lesson. Let’s give them an Ottoman slap.”

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forced to cancel a number of rallies on Friday on doctors’ orders to rest his voice.

The prime minister has purged hundreds of people from the judiciary and police since several of his allies were arrested over a corruption scandal in December.

He has accused the judiciary of being behind a series of wiretaps and social media leaks allegedly exposing major corruption, and blamed the probe on a “foreign plot”.

The scandal has pitted the prime minister against a former ally, US-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, who has many supporters in the police and judiciary.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamic-leaning AK Party have been in power for over a decade.

Sunday’s local assembly and mayoral elections are being seen as a key test ahead of presidential elections in August and parliamentary elections in 2015.

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