Turkish opposition leads in vote to run Istanbul and other key cities, preliminary results showed

euronews (in English)

Turkish opposition leads in vote to run Istanbul and other key cities, preliminary results showed, in a major upset to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who had set his sights on retaking control of those urban areas

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00:00 Polling stations have closed and votes are being counted in Turkey's local elections.

00:06 Early results showed the main opposition party retaining control over key cities.

00:11 The election is seen as a test of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's popularity.

00:16 In Istanbul, the opposition Republican People's Party mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is leading the race.

00:23 Erdogan is backing former urbanisation and environment minister Murat Kurum for the post.

00:30 The President's pick for mayor of the capital Ankara is trailing the incumbent.

00:36 Erdogan's AK Party has been trying to win back voters in Ankara and Istanbul,

00:41 which they lost to the opposition five years ago.

00:45 Some 61 million people were eligible to vote in the election.

00:49 Security was stepped up across the country to prevent violence.

00:54 However, fights in several cities resulted in the deaths of at least two people.

01:00 [SWOOSH]

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