Istanbul mayor urges supporters to have hope despite election defeat

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Istanbul’s mayor on Monday urged people to maintain their hope for change a day after his party’s defeat in the presidential election runoff amid calls from within the party for him to take over the leadership.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won another term in power on Sunday after defeating Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the country’s first-ever second round of a presidential election.

Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu who is also a member of Kilicdaroglu’s Republican Party (CHP), was posed to become Turkey’s vice president if he had won. 

“Today I am aware that there are tens of millions who are disappointed,” Imamoglu said in a video posted to social media, stressing that the people should not be sad or hopeless after a defeat in an election many supporters expected to win, adding that “the only unchangeable thing is change itself.”

“We will no longer do the same things and expect the same results,” he added.

Imamoglu recalled how in 2018 his party also suffered a defeat in the presidential and parliamentary elections, but they were able to mark a historic win nine months later in the 2019 municipal elections, where he defeated Erdogan’s candidate to become the mayor of Istanbul.

“We are a nation that achieved greatness in little time,” Imamoglu said.

The defeat incited the anger of the supporters of the country’s largest opposition party, the CHP, with asking its current leader Kilicdaroglu to take accountability and resign. Supporters also called on Imamoglu to become the new leader of Turkey’s oldest political party.

Tanju Ozcan, CHP member and the mayor of the province of Bolu reacted to the defeat in a series of tweets where he asked Kilicdaroglu to resign with “pride and honor”, and demanded the Istanbul mayor take over the party’s leadership. 

“This is my historic call, Mr Imamoglu should take the leadership of CHP immediately, period,” Ozcan said.

On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the first-ever election run-off in the country’s history, extending his reign for a third decade. Erdogan gained 52.14 percent of the votes while rival Kilicdaroglu gained 47.86 percent, according to data from the state-owned Anadolu Agency.

Turkey's electoral council published official figures which match those published by the state media.

In an address to supporters in Istanbul, Erdogan declared victory and said "the only winner is Turkey," adding that "Turkey opened its doors to a new century," referring to the 100th anniversary of the country's foundation.

"I hope we will deserve your trust in the next five years like we did in the last 21 years," he noted.