Forty-six percent of viewers found opposition İstanbul mayoral candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu “more successful” than the ruling party’s Binali Yıldırım in a TV debate aired on Sunday, according to the MAK polling company.
Speaking to 33,000 participants by phone, MAK found that some 75 percent of voters in İstanbul watched the debate, a first in the last 17 years of Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule.
Forty-four percent of participants said the AKP’s Yıldırım was more successful.
Meanwhile, the study also indicated that Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate İmamoğlu is leading the race by 1.5 percent and that 10.5 percent of participants said they would not cast votes.
Turkey’s Supreme Election Board in May canceled the results of the İstanbul mayoral election held on March 31 due to objections from the ruling party after a narrow victory by İmamoğlu.