Istanbul returned to the polls on Sunday in a re-run of the mayoral election that has become a test of Turkish democracy as well as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's continued popularity at a time of economic trouble.
Election authorities annulled the first vote in March after Erdogan's ruling party alleged corruption. Critics say Erdogan simply did not like the result, after a little-known former district mayor, 49-year-old Ekrem Imamoglu, snatched victory for the Opposition by just 13,000 votes. The city of 15 million is Turkey's economic powerhouse and has been a crucial source of patronage for Islamic conservatives since Erdogan himself won the mayorship a quarter-century ago. Imamoglu, of the secular Republican People's Party, has become a household name since being stripped of his victory, depicting the rerun as "a battle for democracy".