As Ekrem İmamoğlu backers revel in victory, attention shifts to how the president will react

The last partygoers went home as the sun came up. Across Istanbul on Sunday night, hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters danced in the streets waving Turkish flags and brandishing glasses of beer and raki after their candidate for mayor delivered the most serious blow to the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his political career.

As municipal workers cleaned up on Monday morning, however, the front pages of Turkey’s pro-government newspapers downplayed the unprecedented success of the Republican People’s party (CHP) mayor-elect, Ekrem İmamoğlu.

Outside pick for opposition party built on voters’ good faith shown in March elections

Ekrem İmamoğlu was not a well-known figure in Turkish politics before March’s fateful local elections.

But by standing his ground in the fierce battle to become mayor of Istanbul, even after Turkey’s electoral board cancelled his victory, he has become President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s most high profile challenger in years and the unexpected new hope for Turkish democracy.

A shock mayoral win in March led the regime to void elections. Polls suggest a new ballot on Sunday may boost the anti-government vote

The graffiti appeared in Istanbul’s Gayrettepe neighbourhood one morning last month. It showed the word “justice” written on a piece of paper held up by a disembodied hand. With a lighter, the other hand was setting fire to it.

“Write down ‘justice’ on a bit of paper. And then burn its corners,” the tag read. Within a day it had vanished, painted over by a municipality cleaning team. For the Istanbul street artist who goes by the name of Pepe, work is a constant game of cat-and-mouse with authorities seeking to remove his political creations.