Murat Kurum, the Justice and Development candidate (left), is competing with Akrem Imamoglu, the outgoing mayor of Istanbul (social networking sites)
Opinion centers in Turkey say that the division between opposition parties strengthens President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's hopes that his Justice and Development Party will be able to regain Istanbul in the upcoming municipal elections after he won the presidency last year.
Reuters news agency quoted some opinion polls conducted recently that the race appears to be close for the presidency of the Greater Istanbul Municipality between the Justice and Development Party candidate, Murat Kurum, and the outgoing mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, the candidate of the opposition Republican People's Party.
The agency quoted one of the polls conducted this week as saying that Qurum received 44.1%, ahead of Imamoglu, who received 43.5%, a few weeks before the elections scheduled to be held on March 31.
She referred to another poll that showed Imamoglu leading by 41.5%, a difference of 1.5 percentage points over the Justice and Development candidate.
Ozer Sinjar, head of the Metropol pollster, said in statements to Reuters that "the race is close and intense," stressing the importance of Istanbul for national politics in the future.
He added, "If Ekrem Imamoglu wins the elections in Istanbul and its results are not annulled due to objections in some way, he will become president (of Turkey) in 2028."
Five years ago, the Republican People's Party - in its alliance with other political forces - was able to win the presidency of the municipalities of Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, after 25 years of control by the Justice and Development Party and its predecessor, the Welfare Party.
But Imamoglu's hopes of winning this time have diminished after the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party and the Geyid Party decided to present a candidate for the presidency of Istanbul, and they had supported the Republican People's Party candidate in 2019.
Sinjar said, "The damage that the two parties will inflict on Akram Imamoglu must be taken seriously."
The latest poll conducted by Metropol showed a decline in Kurdish voters' support for Imamoglu from 35% last January to 32% last month.
Support among Al-Jadeed Party voters fell from 64% to 45%.
On the other hand, the Justice and Development Party is focusing on restoring the municipalities of Istanbul and Ankara, as a main goal, as stated by the Turkish President.
Erdogan attaches great importance to Istanbul, whose mayor he assumed in 1994 when he was a leader in the Welfare Party.
Source: Al Jazeera + Reuters