Istanbul, 31 March 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The first polling stations opened in Turkey on Sunday for municipal elections, with all eyes on the race to control the country's economic hub Istanbul and capital Ankara.

The vote follows last year`s parliamentary and presidential elections in which the incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan extended his rule after two decades in power.

The poll in industrial hubs such as Izmir, Adana and Bursa, among others, will help measure the country`s political mood as well as Erdoğan`s popularity amid a cost-of-living crisis.

Istanbul will see one of the key clashes in the election.

The candidate for the secular Republican People's Party (CHP) in Istanbul, current Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, is seeking to be elected for another term.

Imamoğlu wrestled control from Erdoğan`s ruling AKP in Istanbul in 2019, ending a 25-year-long rule by Islamic conservatives.

A second Imamoğlu victory will set him up as the main rival to Erdoğan in the next presidential elections, due in 2028.

Polls show a close race between Imamoğlu and Erdoğan ally Murat Kurum, the former urban planning minister from Erdoğan's AKP party. A total of 49 candidates are in the running for mayor.

Istanbul, a metropolis of 16 million, holds a special status for Erdoğan as it was where the president started his political rise.

In 1994, he was elected mayor of Istanbul before becoming the country's prime minister in 2003 and president in 2014. When his Istanbul candidate lost by a small margin in 2019 local elections, Erdoğan`s government quickly moved to cancel the vote.

In repeat polls, Imamoğlu won by an even larger margin, handing Erdoğan his worst political loss.

Observers have warned against the risk of a further slide into “authoritarianism” if Istanbul, with its around $16 billion annual budget, is returned to AKP control.

There is also much at stake for the opposition.

“In an increasingly authoritarian Turkey that concentrates resources in the government, opposition parties need access to municipal resources in order to survive,” says political analyst Berk Esen.

Observers have cited an unfair election campaign where the 70-year-old Erdoğan enjoys far larger state resources and controls 90% of the mainstream media.

Imamoğlu also faces a potential political ban in a court case which critics say is politically motivated.

The 53-year-old was convicted of insulting election authority officials in 2022. If the verdict becomes final, he will no longer be allowed to hold political office.

“Imamoglu is the opposition’s best candidate,” says analyst Esen. “After another win, it would be very difficult to write Imamoglu off ... Erdogan knows that too.”

Roughly 61 million people are eligible to vote in Sunday's polls, including around 1 million first-time voters.

Photo: Anadolu