ANKARA – Istanbul residents are returning to the polls to elect a mayor after an opposition candidate’s surprise victory in March was annulled.
Ekrem Imamoglu won by 13,000 votes, prompting allegations of irregularities from Turkey’s ruling AK party.
Mr Imamoglu has vowed to “battle for democracy” and polls he is likely to beat former prime minister Binali Yildirim for a second time.
As a former mayor of Istanbul – Turkey’s economic and cultural centre, home to 15 million people – the president has often said that “he who wins Istanbul wins Turkey.”
