run for the Metropolitan Mayor of İzmir, regarded as a stronghold of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Campaigning with the slogan 'İzmir'e İyi bir Bakan Lazım', which could be translated both as 'İzmir needs a good Minister' or 'İzmir needs someone to look after it well', he set out 35 projects for İzmir, co-inciding with İzmir's license plate code, which is also 35. These included a tunnel and bridge linking the southern and northern banks of the Gulf of İzmir. In 2013, a dubious poll showed that Yıldırım was ahead of the CHP in İzmir. Despite accusations of government electoral fraud and intentional power cuts designed to obstruct the counting process, Yıldırım lost the election and came second to the CHP candidate and incumbent Mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu, who won 49.6% of the vote compared to Yıldırım's 35.9%. Following the election, Yıldırım praised the AKP's local gains in İzmir where the party took 6 local mayoralties, stating that the local municipalities that had endorsed the AKP had said 'yes' to service and good governance. In 2016 following Ahmet Davutoğlu's resignation as Prime Minister, his mayoral rival and successful opponent Aziz Kocaoğlu stated that he preferred Yıldırım as Davutoğlu's successor due to his ties with İzmir. Potential AKP leadership bids Yıldırım was frequently observed as a potential contender for the Justice and Development Party leadership during Davutoğlu's premiership, especially at times when the relationship between Davutoğlu and Erdoğan appeared to be faltering. The most serious challenge from Yıldırım came during the AKP Ordinary Congress held in September 2015, where an apparent disagreement between Davutoğlu and Erdoğan over the central executive committee candidate lists caused Yıldırım to begin collecting delegate signatures for a potential leadership bid. Yıldırım stopped collecting signatures at the last minute when a deal between Davutoğlu and Erdoğan was reached. Prime Minister, 2016–2018 Having been identified as one of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's most loyal supporters, Yıldırım has been referred to as a 'low-profile' Prime Minister even by members of his own party, working only towards the goal of abolishing the parliamentary system of government and bringing about an executive presidency that would allow Erdoğan to consolidate his powers and effectively abolish the Office of the Prime Minister. Yıldırım has been described as a 'technocrat' with unwavering loyalty to Erdoğan, in contrast to Davutoğlu who had been internationally known for his foreign policy vision. As a result, he is expected