# 2024 Istanbul mayoral election

Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, held mayoral elections on 31 March 2024 as part of the 2024 Turkish local elections. Preliminary results suggested incumbent mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was re-elected.

## Background and candidates

Ekrem İmamoğlu of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP); İmamoğlu, when elected in 2019, became the first non-AK Party mayor of Istanbul in 25 years. In August 2023, he announced his intention to stand again, despite legal challenges to his candidacy.
On 7 January, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey and leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), announced its candidate, Murat Kurum.
Başak Demirtaş, the wife of imprisoned pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtaş announced her intention to run but later withdrew. On 9 February, the HDP's successor, the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) named Murat Çepni and Meral Danış Beştaş as its joint mayoral candidates, with the final decision on who would lead to be left in the event of them winning the election.

## Campaigning

Both İmamoğlu and Kurum have pledged to implement infrastructure projects to reinforce buildings against earthquakes and to ease chronic traffic congestion in the city.

## Incidents

On 10 February, gunmen opened fire at a campaign event in the Küçükçekmece district municipality for AK Party mayoral candidate Aziz Yeniay, critically injuring one person. Seventeen people were arrested in connection with the attack.

## Results
### Metropolitan municipality mayoral election
#### Overall results

| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Ekrem İmamoğlu | Republican People's Party | 4,438,727 | 51.21 |
| | Murat Kurum | Justice and Development Party | 3,431,871 | 39.59 |
| | Mehmet Altınöz | New Welfare Party | 226,731 | 2.62 |
| | Azmi Karamahmutoğlu | Victory Party | 183,901 | 2.12 |
| | Meral Danış Beştaş | DEM Party | 183,827 | 2.12 |
| | Mehmet Satuk Buğra Kavuncu | Good Party | 54,241 | 0.63 |
| | Birol Aydın | Felicity Party | 48,897 | 0.56 |
| | Emre Berk Hacıgüzeller | Homeland Party | 14,860 | 0.17 |
| | İdris Şahin | Democracy and Progress Party | 11,417 | 0.13 |
| | Burhanettin Aktürk | New Turkey Party | 10,407 | 0.12 |
| | Mustafa Aytaş | Rights and Freedoms Party | 8,769 | 0.10 |
| | Cihan Erdoğanyılmaz | Independent Turkey Party | 8,534 | 0.10 |
| | Orhan Gökdemir | Communist Party of Turkey | 7,408 | 0.09 |
| | Nesim Pakır | Democratic Left Party | 5,273 | 0.06 |
| | İbrahim Okan Özkan | Patriotic Party | 4,904 | 0.06 |
| | Vedat Taylan Yıldız | Independent | 4,748 | 0.05 |
| | Umut Çınar | Motherland Party | 2,992 | 0.03 |
| | Osman Tekin | Anatolian Unity Party | 2,185 | 0.03 |
| | Hasan Hüsnü Güner | Nation Party | 2,025 | 0.02 |
| | Ziya İncedere | Communist Movement of Turkey | 1,951 | 0.02 |
| | Muharrem Mutlu | Justice Unity Party | 1,827 | 0.02 |
| | Merve Karataş | Independent | 1,652 | 0.02 |
| | Ishak Akbay | Independent | 1,263 | 0.01 |
| | Hüseyin Işık | National Path Party | 1,135 | 0.01 |
| | Hülya Kavuzlu Karaman | Independent | 1,090 | 0.01 |
| | Adem Bayraktar | Independent | 970 | 0.01 |
| | Vedat Öztürk | Independent | 889 | 0.01 |
| | Galip Menteşe | Independent | 782 | 0.01 |
| | Osman Çelik | Hearth Party | 699 | 0.01 |
| | Memet Ali Aydoğmuş | Independent | 332 | 0.00 |
| | Fatma Ragibe Kanıkuru Loğoğlu | Independent | 279 | 0.00 |
| | Abdullah Arli | Independent | 260 | 0.00 |
| | Sena Elest Akıncı | Independent | 243 | 0.00 |
| | Orhan Çebi | Independent | 232 | 0.00 |
| | Habip Aksu | Independent | 203 | 0.00 |
| | Bilen Akpınar | Independent | 192 | 0.00 |
| | Yaşar Polat | Independent | 187 | 0.00 |
| | Burak Emre Çetin | Independent | 185 | 0.00 |
| | Cemal Tarancı | Independent | 180 | 0.00 |
| | Güven Akıcı | Independent | 179 | 0.00 |
| | Polat Erdoğan | Independent | 160 | 0.00 |
| | Atakan Bozyayla | Independent | 154 | 0.00 |
| | Yüksel Özden | Independent | 152 | 0.00 |
| | Ömer Karvan | Independent | 148 | 0.00 |
| | Ahmet Soytürk | Independent | 140 | 0.00 |
| | Hüseyin Durmaz | Independent | 136 | 0.00 |
| | Mirhat Tekin Brusk | Independent | 127 | 0.00 |
| | Uğur Etlik | Independent | 119 | 0.00 |
| | Ahmet Birikmen | Independent | 111 | 0.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | 8,667,694 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 8,667,694 | 96.63 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 302,683 | 3.37 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 8,970,377 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 11,314,534 | 79.28 |
| Source: Supreme Election Council of Turkey |||||

#### Results by district

| District | Ekrem İmamoğlu (CHP) | Ekrem İmamoğlu (CHP) | Murat Kurum (AK Party) | Murat Kurum (AK Party) | Others | Others | Total votes | Registered electors |
| District | # of votes | % | # of votes | % | # of votes | % | # of votes | Registered electors |
| Adalar | 7,336 | 69.7 | 2,483 | 23.6 | 711 | 6.7 | 10,530 | 13,682 |
| Arnavutköy | 64,466 | 38.1 | 81,777 | 48.3 | 23,155 | 13.6 | 169,398 | 225,240 |
| Ataşehir | 141,517 | 57.5 | 87,040 | 35.4 | 17,574 | 5.1 | 246,131 | 314,652 |
| Avcılar | 126,020 | 55.9 | 80,660 | 35.7 | 18,979 | 8.4 | 225,659 | 302,286 |
| Bağcılar | 150,182 | 39.1 | 189,378 | 49.3 | 44,269 | 11.6 | 383,829 | 511,524 |
| Bahçelievler | 152,758 | 47.8 | 137,241 | 42.9 | 29,683 | 9.3 | 319,682 | 420,018 |
| Bakırköy | 97,516 | 74.4 | 26,721 | 20.4 | 6,846 | 5.2 | 131,083 | 167,960 |
| Başakşehir | 104,705 | 42.7 | 114,207 | 46.5 | 26,506 | 10.8 | 245,418 | 324,937 |
| Bayrampaşa | 77,231 | 49.0 | 65,972 | 41.9 | 14,279 | 9.1 | 157,482 | 199,743 |
| Beşiktaş | 84,583 | 81.3 | 14,985 | 14.4 | 4,474 | 4.3 | 104,042 | 132,536 |
| Beykoz | 74,132 | 49.6 | 64,127 | 42.9 | 11,092 | 7.5 | 149,351 | 186,911 |
| Beylikdüzü | 117,062 | 55.6 | 76,216 | 36.2 | 17,423 | 8.2 | 210,701 | 274,115 |
| Beyoğlu | 60,433 | 49.4 | 50,889 | 41.6 | 11,135 | 9.0 | 122,457 | 165,518 |
| Büyükçekmece | 81,943 | 53.2 | 60,153 | 39.0 | 4,849 | 7.8 | 154,145 | 198,947 |
| Çatalca | 30,894 | 59.7 | 18,635 | 36.0 | 2,193 | 4.3 | 51,722 | 62,666 |
| Çekmeköy | 84,809 | 50.4 | 68,927 | 41.0 | 14,403 | 8.6 | 168,139 | 213,259 |
| Esenler | 86,333 | 36.9 | 121,130 | 51.7 | 26,702 | 11.4 | 234,165 | 308,902 |
| Esenyurt | 227,899 | 49.5 | 173,591 | 37.7 | 58,641 | 12.8 | 460,131 | 642,455 |
| Eyüpsultan | 126,709 | 52.5 | 94,803 | 39.3 | 19,840 | 8.2 | 241,352 | 309,535 |
| Fatih | 87,997 | 45.7 | 87,890 | 45.6 | 16,888 | 8.7 | 192,775 | 262,108 |
| Gaziosmanpaşa | 119,639 | 45.1 | 117,660 | 44.3 | 28,294 | 10.6 | 265,533 | 353,813 |
| Güngören | 64,550 | 44.4 | 66,706 | 45.9 | 14,024 | 9.7 | 145,280 | 194,056 |
| Kadıköy | 252,095 | 81.3 | 44,886 | 14.5 | 12,960 | 4.2 | 309,941 | 385,032 |
| Kağıthane | 114,573 | 46.1 | 108,948 | 43.8 | 25,027 | 10.1 | 248,548 | 329,357 |
| Kartal | 162,889 | 56.4 | 102,612 | 35.5 | 23,295 | 8.1 | 288,796 | 365,155 |
| Küçükçekmece | 233,897 | 54.1 | 152,733 | 35.3 | 45,891 | 10.6 | 432,521 | 568,586 |
| Maltepe | 191,962 | 61.7 | 98,387 | 31.6 | 20,815 | 6.7 | 311,164 | 395,769 |
| Pendik | 190,139 | 45.4 | 187,155 | 44.7 | 41,277 | 9.9 | 418,571 | 545,549 |
| Sancaktepe | 132,555 | 49.8 | 108,315 | 40.7 | 25,141 | 9.5 | 266,011 | 344,529 |
| Sarıyer | 119,916 | 59.3 | 69,582 | 34.4 | 12,765 | 6.3 | 202,263 | 259,165 |
| Silivri | 72,181 | 59.0 | 41,042 | 33.6 | 9,030 | 7.4 | 122,253 | 149,568 |
| Sultanbeyli | 58,509 | 32.0 | 100,740 | 55.0 | 23,770 | 13.0 | 183,019 | 246,463 |
| Sultangazi | 114,265 | 40.1 | 135,563 | 47.6 | 34,914 | 12.3 | 284,742 | 374,689 |
| Şile | 16,514 | 52.6 | 12,960 | 41.3 | 1,908 | 6.1 | 31,382 | 37,354 |
| Şişli | 104,819 | 70.0 | 35,380 | 23.6 | 9,622 | 6.4 | 149,821 | 201,665 |
| Tuzla | 86,078 | 52.4 | 63,415 | 38.6 | 14,973 | 9.0 | 164,466 | 208,680 |
| Ümraniye | 190,694 | 46.5 | 181,776 | 44.3 | 37,896 | 9.2 | 410,366 | 529,849 |
| Üsküdar | 163,765 | 52.0 | 128,881 | 40.9 | 22,532 | 7.1 | 315,178 | 401,184 |
| Zeytinburnu | 65,162 | 47.0 | 58,305 | 42.0 | 15,289 | 11.0 | 138,756 | 187,077 |
| Istanbul | 4,438,727 | 51.2 | 3,431,871 | 45.6 | 797,096 | 3.2 | 8,667,694 | 11,314,534 |

### District elections
#### Full list

| District | Before | Elected |
| Adalar | CHP | CHP |
| Arnavutköy | AK Party | AK Party |
| Ataşehir | CHP | CHP |
| Avcılar | CHP | CHP |
| Bağcılar | AK Party | AK Party |
| Bahçelievler | AK Party | AK Party |
| Bakırköy | CHP | CHP |
| Başakşehir | AK Party | AK Party |
| Bayrampaşa | AK Party | CHP |
| Beşiktaş | CHP | CHP |
| District | Before | Elected |
| Beykoz | AK Party | CHP |
| Beylikdüzü | CHP | CHP |
| Beyoğlu | AK Party | CHP |
| Büyükçekmece | CHP | CHP |
| Çatalca | AK Party | CHP |
| Çekmeköy | AK Party | CHP |
| Esenler | AK Party | AK Party |
| Esenyurt | CHP | CHP |
| Eyüpsultan | AK Party | CHP |
| Fatih | AK Party | AK Party |
| District | Before | Elected |
| Gaziosmanpaşa | AK Party | CHP |
| Güngören | AK Party | AK Party |
| Kadıköy | CHP | CHP |
| Kâğıthane | AK Party | AK Party |
| Kartal | CHP | CHP |
| Küçükçekmece | CHP | CHP |
| Maltepe | CHP | CHP |
| Pendik | AK Party | AK Party |
| Sancaktepe | AK Party | CHP |
| Sarıyer | CHP | CHP |
| District | Before | Elected |
| Silivri | MHP | CHP |
| Sultanbeyli | AK Party | AK Party |
| Sultangazi | AK Party | AK Party |
| Şile | AK Party | CHP |
| Şişli | CHP | CHP |
| Tuzla | AK Party | CHP |
| Ümraniye | AK Party | AK Party |
| Üsküdar | AK Party | CHP |
| Zeytinburnu | AK Party | AK Party |

## Reactions

President Erdoğan acknowledged the AK Party’s defeat in Istanbul and other cities but said that it would mark "not an end for us but rather a turning point", adding that he would respect the result. Speaking to supporters in Saraçhane [tr], İmamoğlu said that “our citizens' trust and faith in us has been rewarded".