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Local municipality election posters for CHP and AKP representative candidates, Istanbul, March 16, 2024. JOHN WREFORD / SOPA IMAGES VIA REUTERS

Alemdag Caddesi, in mraniye, located on Istanbul's Asian side, perfectly captures the essence of a typical shopping street with its vibrant stalls, recognizable sounds, and dynamic crowds, mirroring any other pedestrian zone. Similarly, political party tents of varying sizes have popped up, each bearing their logos and echoing their campaign music for the March 31 municipal elections.

Giant posters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with local candidates from the ruling Islamo-Conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) stand alongside those of the outgoing mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, the leader of the center-left Republican People's Party (CHP). The main opposition party is also fielding its own candidates in the city's various districts.

Yet the mood is heavy. A weariness can be seen in people's eyes. The writer and journalist Bekir Agirdir called it "voter fatigue," caused by an accumulation of ballots on top of the worries and difficulties of the day. Since 2011, Turks have voted almost every year without anything really changing. The rising cost of living has been reducing the amount of food on people's plates and jeopardizing the well-being of households. "The gap between the real problems of everyday life and the official agenda is widening by the day," added this polling specialist, as if "the government was pushing society to depoliticize itself."

Then there's the growing authoritarianism among those in power. On March 7, a passer-by claiming to be close to the CHP was arrested in the middle of the street in the suburb of Sirinevler, on the European bank, after criticizing the president in an interview with a YouTuber. Taken in by the civilian police, he was charged with "inciting hatred." In Kasimpasa, Erdogan's birthplace, AKP militants broke into the CHP campaign headquarters. On March 17, during a rally by the head of state in Konya, several dozen people were arrested for criticizing the government's education policy.

Accordingly, pedestrians rarely, if ever, spill their guts to foreign journalists. They barely whisper their first names, and then again, only after insisting. "Opponents seem to have accepted that the government coalition will maintain its domination until the next general and presidential elections [in 2028]," added Agirdir. "Voters in the ruling bloc, on the other hand, are reluctant to show enthusiasm because of the country's economic situation."

In Istanbul, Imamoglu campaigns around the clock. In June 2019, he surprised observers by handily winning a vote organized twice after the first vote in March was canceled at the AKP's request. The ruling party had persuaded the High Electoral Commission to cancel it, citing fraud. This proved to be a mistake. From 13,500 votes, the CHP candidate won with a lead of more than 800,000 in the second vote, inflicting a historic setback on the president and his party, then the absolute master of the city for 25 years.

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Istanbul mayor election: The opposition and Erdogan's party are locked in a tight race - Le Monde