In Turkey, a vote of confidence for Istanbul's embattled mayor

"We won't give in to despair," insisted 38-year-old Aslihan, referring to the massive protests sweeping across Turkey since the arrest of Istanbul's popular mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

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ISTANBUL - "We won't give in to despair," insisted 38-year-old Aslihan, referring to the massive protests sweeping across Turkey since the arrest of Istanbul's popular mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

She was waiting in line to vote in a long-planned primary organised by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) to choose Imamoglu as its presidential candidate.

Following his arrest, the party opened the poll beyond its 1.7 million members to anyone who wanted to vote, turning it into a de facto referendum.

In the end, some 15 million people voted, of whom 13.2 million were not party members, said Istanbul City Hall, which organised the vote. It extended voting by 3 1/2 hours because of the turnout.

Widely seen as the only politician capable of challenging Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the 53-year-old's lightning arrest and jailing has sparked the country's biggest protests in more than a decade.