With less than a month to go before the rerun of the Istanbul mayoral elections, the People's Alliance formed by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) is about to intensify its election campaign by focusing all their efforts on Istanbul.

AK Party deputies will continue campaigning in Istanbul even though Parliament goes into a recess. Due to their duties in Parliament, AK Party deputies were working four days a week in Istanbul and three days a week in Ankara. The deputies will now devote all their efforts to the election campaign in Istanbul.

The AK Party election campaign has so far focused on young people, voters from specific regions in Turkey and Kurdish citizens.

According to early feedback, the AK Party's "fellow-townsman" strategy has been a real success until now, mobilizing people who did not vote in the March 31 elections.

The MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli has continued meetings with provincial party organizations within the scope of the party's fellow townsmen strategy.

Lastly, Bahçeli invited 50 provincial party organization chairs to the MHP's headquarters. Bahçeli is expected to assign provincial party organization chairs in Istanbul to convince their fellow townsmen to go to the polls and cast their votes in favor of the People's Alliance candidate Binali Yıldırım.

Previously, Bahçeli organized meetings with other 31 provincial party organization chairs and directed them to go to Istanbul to mobilize voters.

The Supreme Election Council (YSK) decided to annul the March 31 mayoral elections in Istanbul due to irregularities and unlawfulness. The YSK's decision for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality elections came down to a vote of four members against seven in favor on May 6. The renewed election will be held on June 23.

The Istanbul mayoral elections witnessed a very close race between the People's Alliances candidate, the AK Party's Binali Yıldırım, and the Nation Alliance and main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu.

The elections in Istanbul saw İmamoğlu being awarded the certificate of election with only a 13,729-vote lead. The decision was followed by lengthy discussions and objections by parties demanding a do-over election due to irregularities.