Voters in Istanbul return to the polls for the second time in three months on Sunday after the ruling party forced a redo of the mayoral election, hoping to reverse a stinging defeat and recapture Turkey’s largest city.

The constant campaigning has exhausted some voters, especially those who back the opposition and are unconvinced Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s formidable president, will concede should his party lose again.

“I’m tired of endless elections, and I’m afraid we will keep having them until the governing party wins,” said Dilber, 33, a security guard who declined to give her surname. “It is difficult to defend my faith in the ballot box.”

Nearly one out of 10 Istanbul voters said they were undecided or didn’t plan to show up, according to pollsters at Konda Research this week. Sunday’s election is the eighth vote in five years.

Though his name isn’t on the ballot, Mr Erdogan has injected himself into the race to help his party’s trailing candidate, accusing the opposition’s Ekrem Imamoglu this week of treachery and suggesting he could block his path if he wins again.

Mr Erdogan held the powerful job of Istanbul mayor himself before becoming prime minister in 2003 and president in 2014. He is Turkey’s most popular politician but his critics blame him for an erosion of democracy by jailing tens of thousands of his enemies, silencing a once-garrulous press and exerting control over the judiciary and other institutions.