Istanbul election rerun: Polls close in key test for Erdogan

23 June 2019; DW: Polling stations closed in Istanbul on Sunday evening, in an election that saw voters casting their ballots for a second time to select a new mayor for Turkey's largest city.

Election officials decided to cancel the results of the first vote in March after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) alleged that there had been cases of vote rigging and corruption.

Over 10 million people were eligible to vote, with preliminary results expected later on Sunday.

In the first election, opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu beat the AKP's candidate by just 13,000 votes.

The AKP's candidate, former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, garnered 48.5% of the vote, while Imamoglu came out with 48.8%.

Local elections in March were seen as a key test for Erdogan and his AKP, and saw his party lose the mayoral seat in the Turkish capital Ankara.