Sözcü newspaper columnist Aytunç Erkin, who spoke with figures close to IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, said that İmamoğlu will begin his election campaign on February 14, Valentine's Day.
Erkin reported the following:
"Başak Demirtaş's candidacy is different from other candidacies. There is an emotional situation at play. We are not going to pack up and leave just because Ms. Başak is going to be a candidate. Nevertheless, we will work to get votes from the DEM Party, the IYI Party, and the AKP. We believe we will reach the vote target we set for the Metropolitan Municipality. Currently, the initial data shows this. We commissioned a poll. The first data has arrived. Ms. Başak is also included there. İmamoğlu is ahead by a margin of about 2 percent. Başak Demirtaş came in at 7 percent. We will get votes from those areas; it will recover further. I can say this: 7 percent is high. If a normal candidate had emerged, it would have stayed at 3.5-4 percent. We need to pull Ms. Başak down to the 3 percent range as well."
News Source: 12punto
