section_path: Political career/2019 mayoral elections
section_name: 2019 mayoral elections
paragraph_text: 2019 mayoral elections
  
  The CHP again nominated İmamoğlu for the 2019 Istanbul mayoral election on 18 December 2018. Both the Good Party, which formed an alliance with the CHP, and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) declined to nominate candidates, which may have increased support for İmamoğlu.
  
  In the run-up to the elections, his campaign received worldwide attention for its mild-mannered and unifying approach, resulting in a narrowing of opinion polls against his rival, People's Alliance candidate Binali Yıldırım. The election was held on 31 March 2019, with İmamoğlu defeating AK Party candidate Binali Yıldırım by roughly 25,000 votes according to the election day totals released by the Supreme Electoral Council. Following his upset victory in which the ruling AK Party significantly outspent him and received more media coverage, İmamoğlu was called a rising star in Turkish politics and a potential candidate to challenge Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2023 Turkish presidential election.
  
  The AK Party disputed the election results on behalf of its candidate, alleging that invalid votes may have swayed the election, and erected large posters in the city proclaiming Yıldırım as the election's winner. İmamoğlu, in turn, accused the AK Party of being "bad losers." Following a government-backed recount, İmamoğlu's lead was reduced to roughly 16,000 votes.