STORY: Voters flock to polls in Istanbul local election
SHOOTING TIME: March 31, 2024
DATELINE: March 31, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:40
LOCATION: ISTANBUL, Türkiye
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Istanbul city view 
2. various of polling stations in Istanbul, Türkiye
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): ERCUMENT CAPAN, Poll watcher
4. various of Ekrem Imamoglu casting his vote with his family 
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): EKREM IMAMOGLU, Istanbul mayor
6. various of Murat Kurum casting his vote with his family
7. SOUNDBITE 3 (Turkish): MURAT KURUM, Justice and Development Party's (AKP) candidate for Istanbul mayor
8. various of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan casting his vote with his wife
9. SOUNDBITE 4 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President
10. various of polling stations in Istanbul, Türkiye

STORYLINE:

Voters flocked to the polls on Sunday in Istanbul, Türkiye's financial and cultural hub, for the country's local elections.
   
A total of 33,228 ballot boxes were established across the city's 39 districts for its 11.3 million eligible voters.
   
Ercument Capan, a poll watcher in the bustling Besiktas district on the European side, said there was a one-third turnout in his polling station until 1 p.m.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): ERCUMENT CAPAN, Poll watcher
"The election day coincided with the Ramadan period, and the pleasant weather prompted people to mostly start casting their votes around noon." 

The race is anticipated to be tightly contested between Ekrem Imamoglu, the incumbent mayor from the Republican People's Party (CHP), and Murat Kurum, the candidate nominated by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
   
Imamoglu and Kurum arrived to vote accompanied by their families in separate polling stations in the city.
  
SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): EKREM IMAMOGLU, Istanbul mayor
"Today, my family -- my wife, my two sons, and I -- exercised our right to vote. Voting is a sacred privilege of citizens in a democracy, and this right must be safeguarded from the moment it is cast into the ballot box."

Kurum, meanwhile, said, Türkiye is poised to experience a grand feast of democracy. 

SOUNDBITE 3 (Turkish): MURAT KURUM, Justice and Development Party's (AKP) candidate for Istanbul mayor
"We are on the brink of making a profoundly significant decision for the future of Istanbul, for the future of our children."
   
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also cast his vote at a school in the Uskudar district on the Asian side. 

SOUNDBITE 4 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President 
"I hope favorable outcomes will emerge for our country and our nation from the local government elections."

In the 2019 local elections, the AKP encountered a significant setback in Istanbul, ceding control of the municipality to the CHP for the first time in 25 years.
   
The voting is set to be over at 5 p.m. in Istanbul, where a total of 49 candidates vie for the mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Istanbul, Türkiye.
(XHTV)