Opposition party’s win in Istanbul officially confirmed
Ekrem Imamoglu, of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), won a slim majority in the March 31 municipal elections, beating out the candidate of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Binali Yildirim. Just 13,729 votes separated the two after recounts were done in Turkey’s largest metropolis.
The Supreme Election Board (YSK) invited Imamoglu to collect his certification on Wednesday afternoon, Hurriyet Daily News reported. A crowd of cheering supporters joined him when he collected the official documentation securing his mandate and an official handover of power is expected to take place later today, according to the news outlet.
The loss of Istanbul, as well as Ankara and Izmir, is a major blow to Erdogan and his party who have been in power for a decade and a half. Erdogan himself grew up in Istanbul and began his political career as mayor of the city in the 1990s. The election was largely seen as a referendum on AKP’s rule and was set against a backdrop of economic hardships after Turkey entered a recession.
YSK is still to issue a ruling on AKP’s request for a rerun of the election in Istanbul. It has ordered at least one re-vote in a northeastern district where AKP led CHP by just three votes.
Diyarbakir’s new mayor, Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), also received his certification on Wednesday.
