On Sunday, Turks will head to the polls to determine who their local councils will be run by. An estimated 63 million people are eligible to vote, electing mayors and councillors across 81 Türkiye’s provinces. Some are viewing these elections as a barometer on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s popularity as the veteran politician leads his […]
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan laid the first foundation stone for his latest multi-billion dollar infrastructure project, Kanal Istanbul (Istanbul Canal) on Friday, 26 June. The event marked the official start of the construction of the canal that, when completed, will offer an alternative shipping route to the busy Bosporus Straits. Accompanied by Adil Karaismailoğlu, the […]
One of the leading lights in Turkey’s main opposition Dr. Canan Kaftancıoğlu is suing Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu for 1 million TL each for defamation. Kaftancıoğlu, who is the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) regional head for Istanbul, initiated legal proceedings against Erdoğan and Soylu after they branded her […]
Debates have been raging for weeks in Turkey about the extent of coronavirus infections and deaths, with the government resisting announcing the actual numbers. In September, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca was forced to admit that the daily statistics released were not the total number of infections, but for patients showing symptoms. The confession that the […]
Passengers have flocked to use Istanbul’s new Mecidiyeköy–Mahmutbey extension after it opened at midday today, Wednesday 28 October. The 18 km extension forms part of the M7 metro line that runs from Kabataş to Mahmutbey on the European side of the city, connecting eight districts of Istanbul. To commemorate the opening one day before Turkey’s […]
It took residents of Istanbul just 55 hours to raise $1.4 million in response to a campaign by the city’s Mayor to help families struggling to pay their bills during the coronavirus pandemic. The “Askıda Fatura” (Bill on the Hook) scheme was launched by Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on Monday 4 May in response to […]
The Mayor of Istanbul will address British Turks in North London this evening, Thursday 14 November. Ekrem İmamoğlu arrived at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday, where he was greeted by members of the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) UK branch. Tonight at 5.30pm, Mr İmamoğlu will take to the stage at the Dominion Centre on Wood Green […]
Binali Yıldırım conceded defeat just two hours after counting started, such was the gulf between him and Republican People’s Party candidate Ekrem Imamoğlu, who won Istanbul’s Mayoral election re-run with 54% of the vote on Sunday, 23 June. The former AK Party Prime Minister was aiming to overturn a slender defeat of some 13,000 in […]
Ekrem İmamoğlu, the main opposition candidate fighting for a second time to become mayor of Istanbul, has hit out at a “smear campaign” targeting his ethnicity. Supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his AK party’s candidate Binali Yıldırım have reportedly been suggesting that Mr İmamoğlu is of “secret” Greek heritage, with less than three […]
More than two weeks after the Local Elections, residents in Turkey’s biggest city finally know who their Mayor is. Earlier today, the Supreme Electoral Board (Yüksek Seçim Kurulu, YSK) invited Ekrem İmamoğlu, the main opposition candidate, to come and receive his official certificate (‘mazbata’), which confirms his election victory in the Mayor of Istanbul contest. […]
