Who will be opposition's Istanbul mayoral candidate if İmamoğlu is not up for the role?

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A survey company asked Istanbul residents whom they would like to see as the opposition’s mayoral candidate if Ekrem İmamoğlu does not put forward candidacy for the post.  

The survey was conducted by ORC Research company between July 19-23 and addressed the question to 2,600 participants.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Mustafa Sarıgül, who was the mayor of Istanbul’s Şişli district from 1999 to 2014, came up top on the list, with 36.4 percent of the participants wanting to see him as the mayoral candidate.

CHP’s Istanbul provincial chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu, who recently announced that she will step down from his post, came second on the list, with 16.5 percent.

Some 11.7 percent of the participants favored renowned economist Özgür Demirtaş, while 7.7 percent supported CHP lawmaker Özgür Özel.

Former CHP MP Gürsel Tekin received 6.2 percent of the support, while opposition Good (İYİ) Party’s Istanbul head Buğra Kavuncu received 4.1 percent.

CHP’s Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan and Istanbul’s Beylikdüzü Mayor Murat Çalık followed on the list, with respectively 2.8 percent and 1.7 percent.

As tensions between CHP leader Kemal Kılıç and Istanbul Mayor İmamoğlu are rising, voters are curious as to whom the party will nominate for the mayorship of the megacity. İmamoğlu on several occasions reiterated that he wants a “change” within the CHP, signalling to take over the party leadership if necessary.  

Kılıçdaroğlu, on the other hand, emphasized that he wants İmamoğlu as the CHP's candidate for Istanbul mayorship. On July 22, he said that there is no search for a candidate for the position. 

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