Polls show opposition candidate ahead as Istanbul rerun nears
Ekrem Imamoglu, who won the election as Istanbul mayor in March before he was forced to step down, has expanded his support ahead of the doover election on June 23.
ISTANBUL — Opinion polls show opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu pulling ahead of his rival from Turkey's ruling party in his bid to recapture the post of Istanbul mayor. He briefly held the position before electoral officials revoked his mandate and forced a new election next month.
Citing technical irregularities earlier this month, the Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) canceled the results of Istanbul’s March 31 mayoral election in which Imamoglu of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) squeaked out a victory with a winning margin of just 13,729 votes out of the 8.5 million ballots cast. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has controlled the Istanbul municipality for a quarter century, promptly objected to the result.
Now, a handful of voter polls show Imamoglu of the opposition has broadened his support ahead of the June 23 rerun election, according to news reports.
Imamoglu is two points ahead of former AKP Prime Minister Binali Yildirim at 47%, according to pollster MAK Consulting. Imamoglu’s share is 50.3% when undecided voters are distributed in the poll of 11,000 people conducted between May 15 and 20.
