Ekrem Imamoğlu’s 2019 victory was a big moment for Turkey’s opposition – but five turbulent years as Erdoğan’s enemy have taken their toll
On the banks of Istanbul’s Golden Horn, the Istanbul mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, rallied a crowd for his re-election campaign as banners advertising his opponent flapped in the breeze on a nearby bridge.Imamoğlu’s 2019 victory was a landmark moment for Turkey’s opposition, marking him as Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s political enemy and giving fresh hope for those seeking to challenge his rule.
Hüsniye Kurt was moved to tears as she watched Imamoğlu speak, pointing to him as a symbol of hope who had managed to make a few small changes to municipal kindergartens and transport lines. But, she conceded as she clutched a Turkish flag, opposition voters are struggling to muster the same enthusiasm as they did five years ago.
Despite this, Tüfekçiler was unconvinced that Imamoğlu’s rule had changed much for Istanbul’s 16 million residents. “I don’t like Imamoğlu, but there’s no alternative,” he said. He was voting to re-elect the mayor as he felt his opponent, the AKP’s Murat Kurum, had even less to offer, he explained. Polling released last month shows how much of a challenge it will be for him to clinch victory, giving him a“It will certainly be a tight race ... A sense of apathy has set in among the opposition supporters after the defeat in the general elections,” said Berkay Mandıracı of International Crisis Group. “The fragmentation of the opposition has fuelled perceptions that change is ever less likely.
“I’m angry at all of it,” he said. “I’m a pensioner – but my pension only brings in 10,500 lira a month, while my rent is 12,000 lira . Imamoğlu’s people showed up here, but I told them that he’s a showman, he’s just performing.”
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