Ekrem İmamoğlu, the candidate for the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the re-run of Istanbul local elections won a landslide victory on June 23 over President Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate, former prime minister Binali Yildirim.
Yildirim accepted the defeat and congratulated İmamoğlu. The early results showed a difference about 800 thousand votes. The March 31 local election for Istanbul when İmamoğlu won with 13 thousand votes, was cancelled by the Supreme Election Board (YSK) upon Erdoğan ‘s persistent objections.
İmamoğlu said in his victory speech that Istanbul re-run elections was actually a win for Turkish democracy.
Details to follow.
