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Turkish polling company says ruling party’s Yıldırım is leading İstanbul race

Binali Yıldırım, former Turkish PM, makes a farewell speech at the Turkish Prime Ministry office, which is now closed. AFP PHOTOS

Turkish polling company ORC on Friday said their latest survey indicates that the ruling party’s İstanbul mayoral candidate, Binali Yıldırım, is leading the race by 0.3 percent over the opposition’s Ekrem İmamoğlu.

According to the survey Yıldırım is expected to garner 47 percent of the vote, while İmamoğlu is predicted to come in at 46.7 percent.

Turkey’s Supreme Election Board (YSK) in early May canceled the results of the March 31 İstanbul mayoral election in which İmamoğlu won the race by a razor-thin margin.

The study also said 3.3 percent of İmamoğlu supporters in the previous election said they were undecided, while 2.6 percent of Yıldırım’s supporters were still considering their options.

The opposition said the YSK’s decision to annul the results was “politically motivated,” although President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan repeatedly stated that there were irregularities in the İstanbul election.

ORC’s announcement was also criticized by some Turkish social media users who cited the polling company’s previous forecasts that were proven wrong in the March local elections.

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