Imamoğlu wins redo mayoral elections of Istanbul defeating AK’s Yıldırım

BY Libyan Express Jun 24, 2019 - 08:43

CHP wins mayoral elections in Istanbul. [Photo: Internet]

Voters in Turkey’s largest city rallied their support behind opposition Nation Alliance candidate Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Ekrem Imamoğlu in the greatly anticipated Istanbul mayoral election rerun.

According to unofficial results, Imamoğlu received 54.03% of the votes while his opponent, People’s Alliance candidate Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) Binali Yıldırım received 45.09% as 99.37% of the ballot boxes were counted.

The vote difference between the two candidates was 777,581, significantly higher than 13,729 announced after March 31 elections. Imamoğlu led the race in 28 out of Istanbul’s 39 districts, greatly improving from the 16 districts he won in the canceled elections.

“The elections in Istanbul were carried out in a calm and peaceful manner. The official results will be shared with the parties and public when available,” Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) Chairman Sadi Güven said in a news conference.

Imamoğlu increased his votes by nearly 530,000 compared to the previous election, while Yıldırım shed 235,000.

Soon after the results started coming in, Yıldırım conceded defeat and said his rival Imamoğlu was leading the race, congratulating him for the apparent victory.

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