2024 Turkish Mayoral elections held on 31 March 2024
Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, held mayoral elections on 31 March 2024 as part of the 2024 Turkish local elections. Preliminary results suggested incumbent mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was re-elected.
Background and candidates.
Ekrem İmamoğlu of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP); İmamoğlu, when elected in 2019, became the first non-AK Party mayor of Istanbul in 25 years. In August 2023, he announced his intention to stand again, despite legal challenges to his candidacy.
On 7 January, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey and leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), announced its candidate, Murat Kurum.
Başak Demirtaş, the wife of imprisoned pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtaş announced her intention to run but later withdrew. On 9 February, the HDP's successor, the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) named Murat Çepni and Meral Danış Beştaş as its joint mayoral candidates, with the final decision on who would lead to be left in the event of them winning the election.
Campaigning.
Both İmamoğlu and Kurum have pledged to implement infrastructure projects to reinforce buildings against earthquakes and to ease chronic traffic congestion in the city.
Incidents.
On 10 February, gunmen opened fire at a campaign event in the Küçükçekmece district municipality for AK Party mayoral candidate Aziz Yeniay, critically injuring one person. Seventeen people were arrested in connection with the attack.
Reactions.
President Erdoğan acknowledged the AK Party’s defeat in Istanbul and other cities but said that it would mark "not an end for us but rather a turning point", adding that he would respect the result. Speaking to supporters in Saraçhane, İmamoğlu said that “our citizens' trust and faith in us has been rewarded".
References.
 ;templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" / ;