Turkey Orders New Election for Istanbul Mayor, in Setback for Opposition

Source:New York Times Date:07May2019

A good background story of how Erdogan changed his mind about Istanbul elections

Mr. Erdogan himself at times seemed to be ready to concede, amid warnings in Turkey and abroad that, if he tried to cancel the election, the ensuing political turmoil would risk a deeper economic crisis.

Behind the scenes on election night and the days that followed, a fierce power struggle was unfolding between a tight circle of ambitious, hawkish officials around the president who were determined to hold on to Istanbul, and a wider circle of older heads in the party who advised acknowledging defeat in the city.

In the end, Mr. Erdogan decided to fight the humiliating results.

“With the influence of those circles around him that I identified as a group, he made himself believe that he might get results with the appeal process,” said Abdulkadir Selvi, a columnist known for his close contacts in the government.