A white open-top campaign bus, surrounded by thousands of Istanbulites, slowly drove past beylikduzu Republic Square on the European side of the Bosphorus, waving Turkey's Star Moon flag and the head of The Founding Father Mustafa Kemal, chanting the victor's campaign slogan – "All will be well!" ”
"This society will embrace freedom, and this society will reverse the wrong direction, you will see... I am sure that our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and my opponents will congratulate me. On the night of June 23, Ekrem Imamoglu, a 49-year-old leading opposition candidate, delivered a victory speech amid a sea of red flags under the night.
Ekrem Imamoglu Visual China Infographic
Nearly three months of dramatic elections and re-elections brought Istanbul's political upheavals into the spotlight, with Imam Olu finally defeating the ruling candidate, former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırıım, a power symbol for the first time in 25 years.
Having won two elections in three months, Imam Olu captured the hearts of voters with a "fierce love", and the moment he once again took over the seal of istanbul's mayor was commented by Western media as "embarking on the road to challenging Erdogan". Yet, just a week into power, the politician, known for his diversity and inclusion, has been accused of "betraying" Istanbul over the refugee issue.
subversion
"Today, 16 million Istanbulites have restored our faith in democracy and justice." Imamoglu said this on the evening of June 23 at the opposition's campaign headquarters in Istanbul's Beilikduzu district. Located in Istanbul's European quarter, Beyikduzu is the political birthplace of Imamoglu, supported by the Republican People's Party, the oldest political party in modern Turkey, founded by Founding President Mustafa Kemal.
The words landed, supporters under the campaign van chanted, and people tracked the live television broadcast of the election count on a huge screen. As the votes kept rising, people danced and sang, cheered and clapped, and some even excitedly sang "Goodbye, Girl!" (Bella Ciao, Chinese version of "Goodbye Friend") – the theme song of the former Yugoslav film The Bridge.
Late victories are always more valuable. The controversial match stemmed from Turkey's local elections on March 31, when the AKP once again narrowly lost Istanbul after losing its capital, Ankara, and economic powerhouse Izmir. In response, Erdogan has called is istanbul's local elections undermined by "organized crime."
As a result, Imamålu was forced to leave the mayor's office after only 17 days as mayor. Turkey's Supreme Electoral Council announced the reconvening of istanbul's mayoral elections on June 23 as AKP appealed over electoral irregularities. A week before the mayoral re-election, the two candidates also confronted each other in Turkey's first live-televised debate in 17 years.
But this mayoral re-election turned out to be a wrong choice for the AKP. Imam Oulu received 54 percent of the vote in the June 23 re-election, while his opponent, Yalderum, received 45 percent of the vote, Al Jazeera reported. Compared with the two people who received 48.8% and 48.55% of the vote in the March 31 election, the gap is further widened.
France's 24 tv station gave a specific figure for the gap between the two, and in the March 31 election, Jedlem only had more than 13,000 fewer votes than Imam Oulu, and this time it was 800,000 votes less.
Such an outcome was a "bitter defeat" for Yaldlem, who was 14 years older than Imam Oulu, and for the AKP behind him. The veteran politician, who is considered an ally of President Erdogan and a former prime minister, transport minister and speaker of the Loya Jirga, avoided watching the slow-motion replay of the decision-timing count after the recount results were announced.
Istanbul's importance in Turkey is self-evident. Located mostly on the European side of the Bosphorus, the city is the economic center of Turkey and the most populous city on the European continent. According to the Guardian, Istanbul's GDP in 2017 accounted for 31% of Turkey's national GDP.
What's more, Istanbul is Erdogan's hometown and has long been a gathering place for its supporters. In 1994, Erdogan was elected mayor of Istanbul in local elections and rose to the top of Turkish politics. Politicians, including Erdogan himself, believe that "winning Istanbul politically means winning Turkey". Now, for the first time in 25 years, Turkey's largest city has "changed hands" from the ruling AKP.
In the eyes of many foreign media and observers, the local election in Turkey is of special significance. According to the Guardian, local elections can be seen as a "referendum" for Turkish society against Erdogan's 16 years in power. The AKP has not suffered such a defeat since 2002. Turkey's slowing economic growth, increased social unrest and, more recently, sharp swings in the lira are the backdrops to the AKP's defeat.
According to an analysis by vox, the U.S. explanatory news site, Turkey's economy has grown rapidly over the past decade under Erdogan's AKP, but the economic model "pursues growth at all costs" — involving massive borrowing and spending, including infrastructure and large-scale construction projects. Turkey is currently facing a lot of debt, which discourages investors and further fuels the recession.
"Total Love"
How does a 49-year-old young politician win the hearts and minds of voters? The answer is hidden in a booklet called Book of Radical Love.
Although the book is adorned with ornate illustrations and quotations of Sufi love poems, its author, a campaign aide to the People's Republican Party, insists that this has nothing to do with "love obsession." This "thorough love" expresses loving others under the worst conditions.
"We have two simple rules. The first point is very simple: ignore Erdogan and love those who love Erdogan. Campaign aide Ateş İlyas Başsoy said this "fierce love" proposes a patient and sincere way of communicating, requiring politicians to talk less and listen more, keep their minds open and avoid ideological debates.
Imam Oulu also implemented this spirit of "fierce love" during the campaign. He did not deliberately highlight his secular identity as a Republican People's Party, but rather his tolerance for the supporters of the Islamist party, the AKP, reached its limit.
During the campaign, he visited mosques in Istanbul several times to show his respect for the religious lifestyle of AKF voters. In the aftermath of the Christchurch shooting in New Zealand, which shocked the world in March, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan played footage of the Christian murderer Tarrant and condemned him at a campaign rally, while ImamOglu personally went to the mosque to pray for the Muslim dead.
In a glued election, the rising star of opposition politics was portrayed by the pro-AKP media as a "terrorist-backed imported Greek", while he took the lead in the polls with a non-confrontational, non-offensive affinity. "Find a neighbor you don't like and give him a hug." Imam Oulu told supporters.
"If the populist style helps unite the people, then that's a good thing." The Turkish political rookie said in an interview with The Atlantic, "We are showing people that love can also melt high walls." ”
U.S. Foreign Policy analyzes that Imam Olu, with its role, bridged Turkey's long-standing gap between secular and religious, which has always been the most basic fault line in Turkish politics.
Meanwhile, the second largest campaign rule in Imam Oulu is more emphasis on economic issues. According to The Atlantic, Imamoglu promised during the campaign to fight poverty by offering free water, milk and bread to poor families in Istanbul.
"In fact, the real difference in Turkey is not between religion and secularism, nor between Turks and Kurds, but between rich and poor," according to Basho, an aide to Imam Oulu. According to the US financial website "24/7 Wall Street", Turkey's Gini coefficient of 0.40 means that the gap between rich and poor is high, and the country's tax law has not been able to narrow this gap. Turkey, on the other hand, has a national unemployment rate of 10.8 per cent and a poverty rate of 17.1 per cent, the highest among OECD countries.
Against this backdrop, Imamoglu played his own slogan: "Everything will be fine!" He focused his campaign on a commitment to the economic situation of his constituents.
Interestingly, another politician who has made a breakthrough in Turkish politics by using a similar strategy is former Istanbul Mayor and current President Erdogan himself. Michael Wosridge, author of "2015 Electoral History in Turkey," notes that, at least in the early years, Erdogan was also popular by virtue of inclusivity and care for the material lives of his constituents.
"Betrayal"
"There will be a new generation of social cohesion in Istanbul." Imam oulu told supporters in Maltepe district at a campaign rally in April. "Under my governance, all the different voices, the colours, the beliefs will be an opportunity, not a risk, for the city."
Yet, just a few days after winning the victory, and not even officially taking office, the new mayor, who tried to package himself as a spokesman for "diversity and inclusion" during the campaign, was accused of breaking his promise.
"The refugee issue is a serious trauma," Imamoglu said on June 23, "there are many Syrians who are not legally registered to get jobs, and we must protect the interests of our people, who cannot change the color of Istanbul with impunity." Imamoglu said.
In a july 3 review titled "How ImamOglu Betrayed Istanbul," Turkey's anti-government media outlet Ahval noted that "it is a betrayal" for a person who has won two election victories on the basis of a "fierce love" and a commitment to promote unity, pluralism and more opportunities.
According to Qatari media middle East Eye, Imam Oulu said at a foreign media news conference on June 28 that economic hardship, traffic congestion and refugee problems are three of Istanbul's top three problems, and that the refugee problem "affects society from the deepest roots". The new mayor also developed a three-step road map to address the refugee problem: first, the establishment of a registration system for refugee women and children;
According to the UN Human Rights Council, Turkey currently has about 4 million registered refugees, of whom 3.6 million are from Syria. According to Turkey's Ministry of The Interior, more than 500,000 Syrian refugees live in Istanbul, or 3.4 percent of the city's total population. Turkish law stipulates that residents of any nationality can apply for Turkish citizenship after 5 years of holding a work permit, but less than 1% of Syrians have obtained a work permit.
On June 29, an attack on Syrians in Istanbul was reported online by Syrian refugees, which was later proven fictitious by some media outlets. But attacks on refugees have intensified, with unrest in some areas of Istanbul and the police even using tear gas and water guns to disperse the mob.
Imam oulu made some controversial remarks in the wake of the incident. "If necessary, refugees must be isolated in camps or re-educated." Imam Oulu said some Turks lost their jobs as many refugees worked through informal channels.
In an interview with Turkey's Haber television on July 1, the new mayor also spoke about the use of Signs on the streets of Istanbul in Arabic: "You can't read signs in some places. This is Turkey, this is Istanbul! Imamoglu said. And when reporters told him that such comments were dangerous, Imam Oulu rejected them.
"I am determined to bring this issue to the rest of the world, to their attention, and to urge them to cooperate and unite against the human tragedy in Syria." ImamOglu said.