Istanbul's mayoral election re-run is set to begin this Sunday. A critical vote in March resulted in a victory for the main opposition but was later annulled. The stakes are high and the fight has been intense to win Turkey's largest city. CGTN's Michal Bardavid explains why.

There is a saying in Turkey; "whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey". That is how important this election is. Ruling Istanbul brings power, both political and economic. The city, with a population of over 15 million people, has a budget of approximately four billion U.S. dollars, this accounts for about a third of the country's economic output. On March 31st during the local elections, Ekrem Imamoglu, Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party CHP candidate won the Istanbul Mayoral election with a narrow margin of 13,000 votes. He was running against AK Party candidate Binali Yildirim.

MICHAL BARDAVID ISTANBUL "Following the March elections, AK Party officials and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan objected to the results, citing voting irregularities that affected the outcome. Last month, Turkey's High Election Board made a controversial decision and annulled the Istanbul mayoral election."

The candidates disagree on the justification of the annulment.

EKREM IMAMOGLU CHP MAYORAL CANDIDATE FOR ISTANBUL "We say there was no ground for the unfair and illegal intervention to the election held on March 31. This is part of our rhetoric for this campaign. We will continue to say this because we know that we are at a cornerstone in terms of democracy."

AK Party candidate Yildirim insists they did not opt for a rerun either.

BINALI YILDIRIM AK PARTY MAYORAL CANDIDATE FOR ISTANBUL "We did not want this to happen. I still say that if Republican People's Party did not resist to a complete recount, this election wouldn't be renewed today."

Imamoglu is a rising star for the CHP who previously served as Mayor of Beylikduzu, one of Istanbul's districts while AK Party's Yildirim has held high-level positions in Turkey including prime minister and parliament speaker.

GARETH JENKINS POLITICAL ANALYST "When I think of Istanbul, when I look at Imamoglu he represents something fresh, he looks young, he looks dynamic, and he offers hope for the future. On the other side, a lot of people are going to vote for Yildirim for stability for continuity. Because there is this fear among the AK party side amongst their voters of change, of what will happen if somebody else takes over, so I think we're going to have this really contrast between hope and fear."

Many analysts say the defeat in Istanbul was perceived as a major blow to Erdogan. He had campaigned intensely in the run-up to the March elections with daily rallies across Turkey stating that the election was a "matter of survival" for Turkey. Turkey's economy will likely once again play a role in voters' decision-making process. The Turkish Lira lost about a third of its value last year and Turks are feeling the pain. The results will also depend on key Kurdish voters who make up about fifteen percent of eligible voters in Istanbul. Michal Bardavid, CGTN, Istanbul.