İmamoğlu After Winning Elections: This is Not a Victory, But the Beginning of a New Era

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The Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate for the İstanbul mayoral election rerun received 54 percent of the votes according to the unofficial results, with his rival Binali Yıldırım from the ruling Justice and Development Party getting 45 percent.

He won the canceled March 31 elections by less than 14 thousand votes.

İmamoğlu briefly said the following in his press conference:

"Our nation knows what was experienced on March 31 night. I won't go into details.

"We can never hide the truth by covering it. Today, along with voting papers, also papers for account came out of the ballot boxes.

Drawing: Gianluca Costantini

"The citizens hold a handful of people accountable as I said, for the grave unfairness on March 31.

"There will be justice, love, and tolerance; wasting, gaudiness, arrogance and otherizing will end.

"Today, 16 million İstanbulites have refreshed our belief in democracy. Not just those who vote for me, but all our citizens who easefully had this election. I sincerely thank all of them.

"You laid claim for our democratic tradition that exceeds a hundred years.

"I thank the HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party) voters, the MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) voters, the AKP (Justice and Development Party) voters, the Felicity Party (SP) the Patriotic Party (VP), the Democratic Left Party (DSP), the Great Alliance Party (BBP), voters, our neighbors in the same neighborhood, all of our people who live in this beautiful city, be it Turks, Kurds, Armenians, Greeks, Jews, Syriacs, in short, the noble citizens of this city, the youth, ladies, our grandmothers, our mothers who kept me standing with their prayers, our campaign director who planned and directed this successful campaign, all of our friends.

"The era of love and respect"

"The era of love and respect has begun. I won't rule the city alone. There is no such genius in the world. I will benefit from all the people from every segment of society.

"Parties are not taboos, they are not sacred.

"Parties are not the purpose, they are tools to serve [to people]. As parties, their leaders are not sacred. It is not true to position them above the nation. The leaders should not be at above, but with the nation.

"Sovereignty belongs to the nation unconditionally."