Istanbulers interrupt their holiday for election | Currently Europe | '
Seven weeks after the cancellation of the election in Istanbul, the citizens vote once more this Sunday about the mayor of the metropolis. Tens of thousands of Istanbulers have prematurely returned from vacation or have interrupted it. The repetition of the municipal election in Turkey falls into the summer holidays and many city dwellers then go to relatives in the country or on the coast. But they are only allowed to vote in Istanbul.
The managing director of the airline Turkish Airlines, Bilal Eksi, tweeted, because of the rush one had provided 24 additional flights.
With special machines from Turkish Airlines, many Istanbulers from holiday regions were flown home (archive)
About 10.5 million people are entitled to vote. In the election on 31 March, around 8.8 million Istanbulers had voted, which corresponds to an 84 percent stake. This time opinion pollers expect a record participation.
A narrow victory with alleged violations
The vote at the end of March had surprisingly won the candidate of the opposition party CHP, Ekrem Imamoglu. The 49-year-old almost knocked out ex-Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who was for the Islamic-conservative ruling party AKP by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. However, the High Electoral Commission annulled the result in early May for alleged irregularities and thus granted an application by the AKP.
Before the victory of Imamoglu, Istanbul had been ruled by AKP mayors for 25 years. The defeat was seen as a loss of face for Erdogan, who himself once held the mayor's office in the business metropolis.
AKP supporters are following a campaign appearance of their favorite Binali Yildirim on Friday
In addition to Imamoglu and Yildirim, one candidate from the small opposition parties Vatan and Saadet arrives this Sunday. The AKP-affiliated ultra-nationalist party MHP supports Yildirim – the pro-Kurdish HDP and the national-conservative Iyi party Imamoglu.
Postcards call for a choice
In order not to lose a voice over the holiday season, the opposition in holiday regions had started a campaign weeks ago. With slogans on postcard motifs, tourists were asked not to go to the beach but to vote. For example, in the western Turkish province of Canakkale, it said, "Shark attack on Bozcaada beaches expected on June 23. Select in Istanbul Do not become shark food." From Bodrum it was addressed to the "beloved citizens of Istanbul", all beaches are closed on June 23 because of a snow warning.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Does he allow a democratic vote this time?
The vote is being followed nationwide as well as internationally – after all, it is seen by many as a test of the state of democracy. So it is the question of whether in Turkey a change of power is still possible by democratic means. A delegation of the Council of Europe wants to observe the election.
se / ust (dpa, afp)
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