*Photos: Ekrem İmamoğlu / Twitter
The election process of the İstanbul Metropolitan Mayor has been dragging on for two weeks now, with the opposition candidate, the winner by a small margin according to the unofficial results, demanding the mandate and the ruling bloc making an appeal after an appeal against the results.
While the election debates dominate the country's agenda, the football stadiums in the country's biggest city were not immune from that.
On Saturday (April 13), the Beşiktaş JK, one of "the Big Three" of Turkey's football, faced Başakşehir FK, a team that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says "he founded" and calls his base to support.
The main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) winning candidate in the March 31 elections, Ekrem İmamoğlu, was also at the grandstand on Saturday night to watch the game.
"Give the mandate, give the mandate"
Although Beşiktaş had to win against the leader by all means to remain in the fight for the championship in the closing stages of the season, its supporters had also the elections in their minds as they chanted "Give the mandate, give the mandate, give the mandate to İmamoğlu."
The election authority, breaking its standard practice, has yet to mandate İmamoğlu although it has been 15 days since the elections.
Just before the beginning of the match, İmamoğlu tweeted, "It is very nice to join the magnificent enthusiasm of the supporters of Beşiktaş. As the İBB (İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality), we will have many works in partnership with the very precious clubs of İstanbul. I wish success to all our clubs."
Beşiktaş supporters chanting, "Give the mandate to İmamoğlu":
Mazbata is loading ❤ #MazbatayıVer pic.twitter.com/OzqOGwaOx6
— nilgün (@nlgndr) April 13, 2019
"Gezi protesters against Erdoğan's team"
The Beşiktaş-Başakşehir game had also a symbolic meaning as the former's supporter group, the çArşı, is known for its political opposition to the government and was a pioneering group in the 2013 Gezi Park protests, which is now under trial for "attempting to overthrow the government."
Başakşehir, on the other hand, has close ties with AKP. Being founded in 1990 as the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Sports Club (İBB Spor), it became formally independent from the municipality in 2014, changing its name to Başakşehir.
Yet its ties with AKP continued as many public companies like the Turkish Airlines, the 3rd İstanbul Airport, the Ziraat Bank, İstanbul Natural Gas Distribution Inc. (İGDAŞ) continue to sponsor the club and the officials at the AKP's Metropolitan Municipality are members of the club's board of directors.
Financing Başakşehir through public companies draws criticism from the public because of the club's political ties and of the supporters it doesn't have. According to the Transfermarkt, it has an average attendance of 4,170 this season.
As for the Big Three, the average attendance for Fenerbahçe is 35,828, Galatasaray is 34,314 and Beşiktaş is 30,153.
Hence, Beşiktaş' 2-1 win against Başakşehir added more to the jubilation of its fans, at least those who don't support AKP.
March before the match
On Sunday, İmamoğlu took to the Kadıköy district in the Asian side of İstanbul, a stronghold for his party and the home of the Fenerbahçe.
Ahead of the team's match with its arch-rival Galatasaray, İmamoğlu attended the traditional walk of supporters through the famous Bağdat Avenue to the Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadium, where Fenerbahçe plays its home games.
He got applauds and support during the walk; thanked the supporters on Twitter.
In the stadium, the support continued as the fans, mimicking their rivals from the day before, chanted, "Give the mandate to İmamoğlu."
İmamoğlu tweeted from the stadium, saying, "I am happy to be at the Fenerbahçe Stadium for the match of the two rooted teams of İstanbul."
The unofficial mayor-elect of İstanbul would manage to be under the spotlight at the top football derby of the country, had the televisions broadcasted the events.
Even during the matches, the broadcaster turns down the voice from the grandstand when there are "political slogans" chanted, a habit it has formed since the Gezi protests.
Ve Fenerbahçe stadyumundan ses yükselir#mazbatayıver @ekrem_imamoglu na #mazbatayıver #FenerinMaçıVar #BugünGünlerdenGALATASARAY
— KriSçıN (@christineaxell) April 14, 2019
# pic.twitter.com/IROBmXjq5M
"This one can't be a mayor"
İmamoğlu's attendance in the two games drew a rebuff from the pro-government side.
Devlet Bahçeli, the chair of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), an ally of the ruling AKP, said that İmamoğlu "can't be a mayor" after he went to the matches.
Referring to the slogans of the supporters, Bahçeli said, "Moving the mandate to the stadium is a seed to turn the competition between the supporters into political enmity. This one can't be a mayor."
İmamoğlu responded to him, saying, "Of course, I will go to the matches. Are Galatasaray, Beşiktaş not teams of this city?" (VK)
