ISTANBUL, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Ekrem Imamoglu, the candidate of Turkey's main opposition party, was certified as the mayor of Istanbul on Thursday, days after he won the race by a clear margin.
The Provincial Election Council presented the certificate of election to Imamoglu from the Republican People's Party (CHP) at Caglayan Courthouse in the largest city and financial hub of Turkey.
In the re-run of the mayoral election held Sunday, Imamoglu beat his rival Binali Yildirim from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) by garnering 54.21 percent of the votes.
Imamoglu, 49, won the mayorship in local elections held on March 31 by a slim margin and served as Istanbul mayor for less than one month before he was disqualified by the country's top election board on May 6 as it annulled the result and called for a new election on June 23 over AKP's claims of irregularities.
After getting the certificate, Imamoglu joined a hand-over ceremony with Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya, who had been serving as the acting mayor of Istanbul.
Addressing his supporters, Imamoglu promised to be the mayor of everyone regardless of their ethnic and religious backgrounds.
"We will distribute the resources of the city equally," he said, adding "the era of wasting will be over and the age of saving will begin."
Imamoglu's victory is seen as a turning point for the country's future, as it ends the AKP's 25-year-old hold on Istanbul.
In the March elections, the CHP won other major cities including Ankara, Izmir, Antalya and Adana.
