if ekrem imamoglu were to win, does hours. if ekrem imamoglu were to win. does that _ hours. propel him - hours. if ekrem imamoglu were to win, does that propel him onto - hours. if ekrem imamoglu were to| win, does that propel him onto the national stage to become a future leader? is that why people are concerned or interested in this particular election?— particular election? yes, what ha--ens particular election? yes, what happens in — particular election? yes, what happens in istanbul _ particular election? yes, what happens in istanbul will - particular election? yes, what happens in istanbul will have l particular election? yes, what| happens in istanbul will have a significant effect on the future of turkish politics. that is why this race can easily be seen for a battleground for the next presidential elections. erdogan won the election not once but twice. —— ekrem imamoglu one not once but twice and if he went today if he is beaten him three times then he can beaten him three times then he can be the one who will challenge him for the next presidential election in 20

the current mayor there, ekrem imamoglu, is seen as mr erdogan's biggest challenger in decades.tential rival to president erdogan in 2028. the elections are taking place against a backdrop of severe economic problems, including inflation of nearly 70%. let's speak to esra yalcinalp from the bbc turkish service who's in istanbul. hello to you. let us begin. with istanbul, because there is so much talk about istanbul, it is home, of course, to mr erdogan, so this is personal to him. why and how did he lose it in the last elections? weill. lose it in the last elections? well, about 16 million _ lose it in the last elections? well, about 16 million people _ lose it in the last elections? well, about 16 million people are - lose it in the last elections? -ii about 16 million people are expected to vote today in turkey. —— 60 million. but we can say that all eyes will be in istanbul today, because of its significance for both the ruling justice and development party, ak party, the party of mr erdogan, as well as the opposition chp. toeke's economic and social powerhouse, istanbul, was

the current mayor there, ekrem imamoglu, is seen as mr erdogan's biggest challenger in decades.ntial rival to president erdogan in 2028. the elections are taking place against a backdrop of severe economic problems, including inflation of nearly 70%. earlier we heard from esra yalcinalp from bbc turkish for more on this. well, about 60 million people are expected to vote today in turkey. but we can say that all eyes will be in istanbul today, because of its significance for both the ruling justice and development party, ak party, the party of mr erdogan, as well as the opposition chp. turkey's economic and social powerhouse, istanbul, was ruled by ak party and its islamist predecessors for about 25 years, and then in 2019, the chp alliance won, with ekrem imamoglu as the mayor. and he is running up against the akp candidate, the former minister for the environment and urbanisation today, and ekrem imamoglu is viewed as president erdogan's biggest challenger that has come in decades, and if he manages to win today in istanbul, the opposition will have very high hopes for the upco

the current mayor there — ekrem imamoglu — is seen as mr erdogan�*s biggest challenger in decades.dent erdogan in 2028. the elections are taking place against a backdrop of severe economic problems, including inflation of nearly 70%. esra yalchinalp from the bbc turkish service is in istanbul she told me more about the significance of these elections. they are going to determine who is going to solve our traffic problems, or who is going to collect our garbage, basically but they signify so much more for the country today. i myself went out to vote a couple of hours ago. as usual, i was faced with long queues of voters waiting at the ballot boxes. people really do care. and turkey has always been a country with a high voter turnout with about 85% so far. today, the voters know that their boat will be shaping that their vote will be shaping the upcoming political atmosphere in the country. and we must say that all eyes will be on the outcome of these elections. the city of 60 million was gained by the opposition in 2019 after shattering the 25—year rule of the akp party. today presi

the current mayor there, ekrem imamoglu, is seen as mr erdogan�*s biggest challenger in decades.d boost his standing as a potential rival to president erdogan in 2028. the elections are taking place against a backdrop of severe economic problems, including inflation of nearly 70%. earlier we heard from esra yalcinalp from bbc turkish for more on this. well, about 60 million people are expected to vote today in turkey. but we can say that all eyes will be in istanbul today, because of its significance for both the ruling justice and development party, ak party, the party of mr erdogan, as well as the opposition chp. turkey's economic and social powerhouse, istanbul, was ruled by akp and its islamist predecessors for about 25 years, and then in 2019, the chp alliance won, with ekrem imamoglu as the mayor. and he is running up against the akp candidate, the former minister for the environment and urbanisation today, and ekrem imamoglu is viewed as president erdogan�*s biggest challenger that has come in decades, and if he manages to win today in istanbul, the opposition will have ve

the opposition�*s leading figure — istanbul's current mayor, ekrem imamoglu — has declared victory after over 50% of the vote. this is significant because he's viewed as the best placed opposition candidate for the presidency in 2028. onur erem is from the bbc turkish service, and he gave us the latest. more than 80% of the votes have been counted, and the opposition is still leading in most of the cities, and especially the biggest cities. they've won six of the seven largest cities in turkey — and for the first time in the last 2a years, they've managed to win more municipalities than the government party, the akp. so what does this mean for president erdogan and his ak party? he was speaking half an hourago, and he said, "the waters have warned us, and we will listen to this warning." he said, "this isn't the result we were expecting," but he added, "this is not an end for our party, but a turning point instead." why have voters then flocked to the oppoistion in istanbul and ankara, and other major cities, as well? in the last few years, there's an economic crisis in turkey, and the c

the current mayor there, ekrem imamoglu, is seen as mr erdogan's biggest challenger in decades.e taking place against a backdrop of severe economic problems, including inflation of nearly 70%. let's speak to esra yalchinalp from the bbc turkish service who's in istanbul. why are these local election scene is so significant?— is so significant? these are local elections like _ is so significant? these are local elections like you _ is so significant? these are local elections like you mentioned - is so significant? these are localj elections like you mentioned but they are meant to determine who is going to collect our garbage, essentially and solve the problems in the city but they signify so much more for the country today. i myself went out to vote a couple of hours ago. as usual, i was faced with long queues of voters waiting at the ballot boxes. people really do care. and turkey has always been a country with a high voter turnout with about 85% so far. today, the voters know that their boat will be shaping the upcoming political atmosphere in the country. and we must say tha

the current mayor there — ekrem imamoglu — is seen as mr erdogan�*s biggest challenger in decades.ial rival to president erdogan in 2028. the elections are taking place against a backdrop of severe economic problems, including inflation of nearly 70%. earlier i spoke to 0nur erem from the bbc�*s turkish service who told me the latest. we can say around 20% of the votes are counted and it looks like, especially in the major cities, the last years of economic crisis has affected the voters' decisions, and for the first time in local election history, the main opposition looks like they are getting more votes than the government party, and have involved more members in local councils, and also more mayors than the government party. we can say that may change because it's only 20% of the votes counted yet, but even getting a result close to the government party would be a huge success for the main opposition party, because they have been in an alliance with all the opposition in the last two elections, but this time they are standing alone and getting even more votes. right, and this e

yes, this is his last term — and there might be a case that the mayor of istanbul, ekrem imamoglu, ify. i see, and therefore, if he on the other hand regains traction — we're talking now about istanbul and also ankara — if he regains power over those two important cities, that might propel him to try to change the constitution and extend his power? yes — previously, he has told that he wants to change the constitution, but he doesn't have enough support in the parliament yet. if a major victory happens tonight for the government party, mr erdogan may try to do this. romania and bulgaria have become the newest members of the europe's schengen area of free movement — but only for air and sea crossings. land border controls will remain in place because of austria's opposition to the eastern european nations becoming full members of the zone. vienna fears an influx of asylum seekers if all border controls disappear. romania's interior minister said joining schengen was an important moment for his country and its citizens. emer mccarthy has more from the newsroom. after a 13—year long wait

the current mayor there — ekrem imamoglu — is seen as mr erdogan's biggest challenger in decades.ogan in 2028. the elections are taking place against a backdrop of severe economic problems, including inflation of nearly 70%. earlier, i spoke to emre temel from bbc turkish. losing istanbal was the biggest political defeat of his career. when president erdogan won the presidential election last year, he immediately declared that taking istanbul back would be his primary target. 0bviously, conditions are changed in turkish politics, last year it was split but ekrem imamoglu is a very popular politician and he seems to be the most serious challenger that president erdogan has faced. how does it work, do we have indication of turnout or exit polls or something like that? the polls closed an hour ago. we still don't know anything at this stage. we can't say anything at this stage however we hope to hear initial results within the next couple of hours. if ekrem imamoglu were to win, does that propel him onto the national stage to become a future leader? is that why people are concerned o

the mayor of istanbul, ekrem imamoglu, in today's speech, he said, "this is not only an important dayey, but the rest of the world. in the last decade, the authoritarian tendency was expanding in the world, and turkey showed that you can turn this around by democratic means with an authoritarian regime." find democratic means with an authoritarian regime." and he mentioned — authoritarian regime." and he mentioned that _ authoritarian regime." and he mentioned that the _ authoritarian regime." and he mentioned that the (hp - authoritarian regime." and hej mentioned that the (hp didn't authoritarian regime." and he i mentioned that the (hp didn't do authoritarian regime." and he - mentioned that the (hp didn't do so mentioned that the chp didn't do so well in the presidential elections last year, so it's changed then since that has led to all these successes in these municipal elections?— successes in these municipal elections? , , . ., elections? the biggest change in the chp was their— elections? the biggest change in the chp was their leader. _ elections? the biggest change in the ch

and we have seen ekrem imamoglu, the mayor of istanbul, speaking.nt night for 30 or istanbul but for western democracies. he was talking about the recent decline in democracies and the expansion of authoritarian regimes around the world, and it is possible to change this through democracy and the people of turkey have shown this.— have shown this. what was the turn out like? i'm _ have shown this. what was the turn out like? i'm trying _ have shown this. what was the turn out like? i'm trying to _ have shown this. what was the turn out like? i'm trying to get - have shown this. what was the turn out like? i'm trying to get a - out like? i'm trying to get a picture as to how much this actually represents how the turkish people think. and also, let'sjust take represents how the turkish people think. and also, let's just take a look at some pictures now. these are coming infrom... which look at some pictures now. these are coming in from... which city is this? that is istanbul. this is the opposition rally in istanbul, which suggests that there is a gr

the current mayor there — ekrem imamoglu — is seen as mr erdogan's biggest challenger in decades.rdogan in 2028. the elections are taking place against a backdrop of severe economic problems, including inflation of nearly 70%. with more on this we can now speak to 0nur erem from the bbc turkish service. it's good to see. what a vote is particularly motivated to vote about, and is the turn out good? will it be good, do we think? yes. will it be good, do we think? yes, riaht now will it be good, do we think? yes, right now we _ will it be good, do we think? yes, right now we can _ will it be good, do we think? yes, right now we can say _ will it be good, do we think? is: right now we can say around 20% will it be good, do we think? i2: right now we can say around 20% of the votes are counted and it looks like, especially in the major cities, the last years of economic crisis has affected the voters decisions, and for the first time in local election history, the main opposition looks like they are getting more votes than the government party, and have involve more members in local c

and there is also an issue facing the current mayor of istanbul, ekrem imamoglu. and that's criminal charges for insulting public officials. that stem from actually the last time he went off this in 2019, a race that was heavily contested run and then rerun they're not so much of an issue in this particular race, but of course, when the dust settles on on this, they could come back to bite him later on. but for now, all the focus is on the actual voting pull. the polling stations will close and a couple of hours from now interesting all, right thanks so much. scott mclean in istanbul. appreciate that egyptian state media is reporting that ceasefire and hostage talks involving israel and hamas are due to resume in cairo today. the last round of talks took place in doha earlier this month on saturday, foreign ministers from egypt, jordan, and france met in cairo three discussed finding way to end the humanitarian crisis in gaza >> it will move devided though little higher than all the countries in the international community bear the responsibility for these events

and the current mayor there — ekrem imamoglu — is seen as mr erdogan�*s biggest challenger in decadesin terms of exit polls and the results, the votes that been counted? 70% of the votes have now been counted. forthe 70% of the votes have now been counted. for the first time, since mr erdogan came to power in 2003, they got more cities under control compared to the government party. right, what does this mean for the wider picture? the focus, the next focus is going to be on whether president erdogan can remain in power nationally? and a lot depends on the selections? can you explain the link, please? his on the selections? can you explain the link, please?— the link, please? his term ends in 2028 but his _ the link, please? his term ends in 2028 but his party _ the link, please? his term ends in 2028 but his party having - 2028 but his party having experienced such a loss, it will create a political power struggle in turkey while the main opposition party, chp, gaining more powerthan ever. at its istanbul mayor who won his second term in istanbul, ekrem imamoglu, is appointed as the

the current mayor there, ekrem imamoglu, is seen as mr erdogan's biggest challenger in decades.tential rival to president erdogan in 2028. the elections are taking place against a backdrop of severe economic problems, including inflation of nearly 70%. we can cross live to istanbul and freelance journalist victoria craig. hello to you, victoria. 0f hello to you, victoria. of course, mr erdogan shouldn't be standing in 2028. just talk us through first off, why istanbul is key to these elections in the direction of the country? elections in the direction of the count ? ., ., , ., country? hello, that is a right, what you _ country? hello, that is a right, what you said _ country? hello, that is a right, what you said in _ country? hello, that is a right, what you said in your- country? hello, that is a right, what you said in your intro - country? hello, that is a right, what you said in your intro is i what you said in your intro is precisely the reason why, istanbul is the biggest city in the country, home to a fifth of the population, nearly 16 million people, and with a large

. >> and one of them >> is ekrem >> imamoglu. that is the incumbent mayor of istanbul he is widely seen as one of the very few opposition figures that is strong enough or popular off, maybe even the only opposition figure who could take on on president erdogan directly and maybe win in a head-to-head election. and so if he wins, then it means everyone has some competition for the next day. a few years as we head into the next presidential race. if he loses than it is really back to the drawing board for the opposition in this country which has not in recent times fielded a very strong candidate. and so that is why i, president erdogan has put so much effort into trying to defeat mmo before this local election might actually strengthen his hand. there is one thing sending an heir to one's way for running for president one more time. and that is the constitution none of this country, but victor, there are plenty of fu through a pointed out the loopholes that he could find which may allow him to run just one more time. >> scott mcle