Millions of voters in Istanbul go back to the polls for a controversial mayoral election re-run on Sunday, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party tries to wrest back control of Turkey’s largest city. Millions of voters in Istanbul go back to the polls for a controversial mayoral election re-run on Sunday, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party tries to wrest back control of Turkey’s largest city. The race for Istanbul is seen as a test of Mr Erdogan’s popularity amid a sharp economic downturn, rising unemployment and high food prices. “It’s very risky for any political party to lose Istanbul,” said Can Selcuki, general manager of the Istanbul Economics Research think tank. Ekrem Imamoglu (Burhan Ozbilici/AP)He once famously said: “Whoever wins Istanbul wins the whole of Turkey.”Mr Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics for the past 16 years, but a loss could put him on shaky political ground.

Source: Irish Independent June 21, 2019 13:18 UTC