Table of Contents
Why did Imamoglu win in Istanbul?
Part of Mr Imamoglu’s campaign was to allege the squandering of public money by the AKP. Although less conservative as a whole than the AKP’s rural heartland, Istanbul still has conservative districts such as Fatih, but Mr Imamoglu also won there and in Mr Erdogan’s own childhood district of Beyoglu.
How many votes did Ekrem İmamoğlu get?
At the conclusion of the re-counting process on 17 April 2019, it was announced that Ekrem İmamoğlu had completed the election with 4,169,765 votes, 13,729 votes ahead of his rival Binali Yıldırım, who received 4,156,036 votes.
Why did Turkey’s AK Party lose control of Istanbul?
Turkey’s ruling AK Party has lost control of Istanbul after a re-run of the city’s mayoral election, delivering a stinging blow to President Erdogan. With nearly all ballots counted, main opposition party candidate Ekrem Imamoglu had a lead of 775,000 votes, a huge increase on the margin of 13,000 he achieved in the earlier election.
Who is Turkey’s new Prime Minister Hakan Imamoglu?
Mr Imamoglu, 49, is from the secular Republican People’s Party and is mayor of Istanbul’s Beylikduzu district. His opponent Mr Yildirim was a founding member of Mr Erdogan’s AKP and was prime minister from 2016 until 2018, when Turkey became a presidential democracy and the role ceased to exist.
Why is Istanbul so important to Erdogan?
Istanbul is also close to Mr Erdogan’s heart – his political career rose there as his AKP took power in the city a quarter of a century ago and he himself served as mayor from 1994 to 1998. Istanbul accounts for just short of a third of Turkey’s GDP. It has a $4bn (£3.14bn) municipal budget which spawns lucrative contacts.
Who is Turkey’s new prime minister Bülent Yildirim?
Mr Yildirim was a founding member of Mr Erdogan’s AKP and was prime minister from 2016 until 2018, when Turkey became a presidential democracy and the role ceased to exist. He was elected Speaker of the new parliament in February and before that served as minister of transportation and communication.