Erdogan Congratulates Opposition Candidate On Winning Istanbul

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published June 24, 2019 | 12:10 AM

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th June, 2019) Turkish President President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has congratulated opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu on winning this Sunday's mayoral election rerun.

Imamoglu of the secular Republican People's Party defeated Binali Yildirim of Erdogan's ruling AK Party, winning 54 percent of the vote. The former prime minister conceded his defeat after rejecting the result of the March election.

"The will of the people has manifested itself again today. I congratulate Ekrem Imamoglu who won the election, according to informal results," Erdogan tweeted.

The AKP's loss of Istanbul has been largely viewed as a setback for the president who was once mayor of this economic hub of Turkey. His party challenged the outcome of the previous vote saying it was fraught with irregularities. It was won by Imamoglu by a slim margin.