The first polling stations opened in Turkey on Sunday for municipal elections, with all eyes on the race to control the country’s economic hub Istanbul and capital Ankara. The vote follows last year`s parliamentary and presidential elections in which the incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan extended his rule after two decades in power. The poll in industrial hubs such as Izmir, Adana and Bursa, among others, will help measure the country`s political mood as well as Erdoğan`s popularity amid a cost-of-living crisis. Istanbul will see one of the key clashes in the election. The candidate for the secul…