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Voters in Istanbul voted again this Sunday, June 23 to elect their mayor, after the cancellation of the first election already won last March by the opponent Ekrem Imamoglu.
Binali Yildirim did not wait for the publication of official results to concede defeat in Istanbul's municipal election. " According to the results, my rival Ekrem Imamoglu leads the race. I congratulate him and wish him good luck. I hope it will serve Istanbul well , "said the AKP candidate to the press.
Speaking soon after, his opponent said his victory marked " a new beginning " for Istanbul, that of justice and equality against waste and arrogance. " Mr. President, I am ready to work in harmony with you, " said Ekrem Imamoglu to Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to figures released by the state agency Anadolu covering more than 97% of the ballots counted, the opposition candidate won 53.86% of the vote, against 45.23% for Binali Yildirim. Even if they said they were more and more optimistic as the count went on, supporters of the CHP candidate were jubilant at the announcement of the results, reports our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer . There is enough: while Mr. Imamoglu had won with less than 14,000 votes in advance of the invalid ballot on March 31, he has collected this time over 750,000 votes that his opponent.
The vote was canceled under pressure from the AKP President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, claiming " massive irregularities ." Charges rejected by the opposition who denounced a " putsch against the ballot box " and saw the new vote as a " battle for democracy ".
For Recep Tayyip Erdogan, this defeat is a scathing setback. It puts an end to 25 years of control of the Islamic-conservative camp at Istanbul City Hall, the largest city and economic capital of Turkey. It also undermines the image of invincibility of the head of state who has undoubtedly made the biggest tactical mistake of his career by canceling the election of March 31.