President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) shakes hands as he casts his vote, flanked by Finance Minister Berat Albayrak (L) and his wife Esra Erdogan (2nd L), at a polling station during the mayoral election re-run in Istanbul on June 23, 2019. AFP / Adem ALTAN
Istanbul: Binali Yildirim, the ruling party candidate in the controversial re-run of Istanbul's mayoral election, conceded defeat on Sunday.
Initial results from the state-run Anadolu news agency showed opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu leading with 53.69 percent to Yildirim's 45.4 percent with more than 95 percent of ballots counted.
"According to the result as of now my competitor Ekrem Imamoglu is leading the race. I congratulate him and wish him good luck," Yildirim said.
