Turkish opposition leads in vote to run Istanbul and other key cities, preliminary results showed, in a major upset to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who had set his sights on retaking control of those urban areas
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00:00 Polling stations have closed and votes are being counted in Turkey's local elections.
00:06 Early results showed the main opposition party retaining control over key cities.
00:11 The election is seen as a test of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's popularity.
00:16 In Istanbul, the opposition Republican People's Party mayor Ekrem Ä°mamoÄŸlu is leading the race.
00:23 Erdogan is backing former urbanisation and environment minister Murat Kurum for the post.
00:30 The President's pick for mayor of the capital Ankara is trailing the incumbent.
00:36 Erdogan's AK Party has been trying to win back voters in Ankara and Istanbul,
00:41 which they lost to the opposition five years ago.
00:45 Some 61 million people were eligible to vote in the election.
00:49 Security was stepped up across the country to prevent violence.
00:54 However, fights in several cities resulted in the deaths of at least two people.
01:00 [SWOOSH]