The Turkish Electoral Authority has given in to the complaints of the AKP: The mayoral election in Istanbul is being repeated. The reactions to it are mixed.
An elderly man stares blankly at his landing in the center of Istanbul: „That’s really bad, I’m really sad, you could not have caused Turkey a bigger evil, and for 35 days, you have the citizens of this city who have decided Now they’ve put a button on you, you lose your decency, not like that. “
A Turkish television reporter has allegedly already first information, which has led to the decision of the electoral authority: It was mainly due to the irregularities in the composition of the committees in the polling stations – more precisely, that many responsible people there have been no officials, as the law prescribes. This objection was raised by AKP and MHP.
Opposition candidate is confident
Ekrem Imamoglu narrowly won the election on March 31st. After several recounts, he was ahead with around 14,000 votes – with around nine million votes cast. Shortly after the decision of the Turkish electoral authority in the evening he goes to Twitter first with a video online.
As he sits with a family breaking fast and is demonstratively relaxed: „I will wait for the first time the official statement of the High Electoral Council and then – wait and see – I will say in great detail my opinion to do it.So worry, everything will be alright – do not give up hope, never! “
Manipulations feared
This young woman seems to take that to heart. She strolls with her boyfriend quite relaxed on this mild spring evening through an Istanbul nightlife district. But suddenly she becomes very serious: „You will cheat, I am against a redial, I am against this decision, the result will be different, because they will cheat.“
Many government critics had already feared that on the first ballot on March 31st. They had little hope that the AKP candidate Binali Yildirim, who was former Turkish Prime Minister, would not win. The bigger the surprise was the victory of Ekrem Imamoglu of the CHP. The AKP complained of corruption and inconsistencies. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself spoke of theft at the polls.
On June 23, the approximately ten million eligible Istanbul citizens to vote for the second time their mayor. Recep Özel of the AKP justifies this: „We turn to the people’s vote again, no matter what happens – there have been irregularities and we want a choice without any irregularities.“
In front of a bar, an elderly gentleman sits with a cigarette. Through his fingers glides the prayer beads. „The redial will not cause any problems,“ he says. „Our people are smart, they will vote again, Turkey will not lose anything.“
Mood partially irritated
Not everyone is relaxed that evening. From the next table comes a woman and wants to know why foreign press is interested in the Istanbul mayoral election. She threatens with her friends from the police.
Overall, Imamoglu’s followers seem to stick to his request to stay calm. Even the older shopkeeper, despite his disappointment, remains prudent: „I do not want any protests to come in. It would not bring anything to anyone, I’m in favor of everything being reasonable and lawful.“
In fact, Istanbul will be quiet for a while – until some of them get their displeasure air, in a typically Turkish way. People hang on the windows and knock on pots and pans – the signal to the neighbors: You are not alone with your disappointment.
