Erdogan supporters mobilise to take back Istanbul

Istanbul:A fervent supporter of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, vegetable merchant Inal Kaya did not vote during the local elections in March and later regretted it when the ruling party lost in a shock upset.
“I was a bit fed up with all these elections,” said Inal, peeling leeks at his stall in the district of Fatih, a conservative stronghold. It was the eighth election in just five years.
But on Sunday, he will have a second chance, thanks to a controversial re-run of the mayoral vote.
“And I will certainly be there,” he said.
Every vote will count, since only 13,000 ballots separated Erdogan’s chosen candidate, former prime minister Binali Yildirim, from the winner, Ekrem Imamoglu of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Many, like Inal, had assumed Yildirim’s victory was guaranteed after a 25-year unbroken run of rule by the Islamic-rooted AKP or its predecessor in the city.