The March 31, 2019 local elections, which were expected to be the start of a long period without elections for Turkish politics, could not produce the same result for Istanbul and instead ended with a do-over of the elections over the Supreme Election Council (YSK)’s decision over irregularities.
While many candidates participated in the metropolitan mayoral election in Istanbul, the actual race took place between the People’s Alliance (AK Party – MHP) candidate Binali Yıldırım and the Nation Alliance (CHP – IP) candidate Ekrem Imamoğlu, who was also backed by the HDP.
The aftermath of the election and appeal process was marred by Imamoğlu, who led the race with a slim margin according to unofficial results, declaring himself mayor and starting to make visits. Amid the ongoing appeal process, the provincial election board in Istanbul awarded Imamoğlu with the mayoral mandate on April 17, but the YSK canceled the election on May 6 upon irregularities in the formation of election boards and ruled for a rerun of the metropolitan mayoral election on June 23.