Turkey’s main opposition party has declared victory in high-stakes elections in the main cities of Istanbul and Ankara.
Ekrem Imamoglu, who first became opposition mayor in Istanbul in 2019, said “the picture pleases us greatly”.
A year after Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured a third term as president, he had made it his goal to win back the city where he grew up and became mayor.
But the night belonged to the main opposition as it closed in on victory.