ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - The Latest on the Turkish local elections (all times local):
3:35 p.m.
The opposition party’s candidate has criticized the plans of Turkey’s ruling party plans to seek a repeat of the mayoral race in Istanbul and urged the party to acknowledge his victory.
Ekrem Imamoglu, who won the tight race for Istanbul in the March 31 local elections, said Tuesday that Istanbul had no time to lose and urged President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party to accept that “losing an election is as much part of democracy as winning.”
He told reporters: “The winner of the election is clear and the people on the street have accepted it.”
The ruling party has said it will demand a re-run of the vote, citing alleged irregularities.
Imamoglu has a more than 14,000-vote lead in vote in Istanbul over the ruling party’s candidate, former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
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1:40 p.m.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party says it will seek a re-run of last week’s mayoral election in Istanbul, citing alleged irregularities.
Ali Ihsan Yavuz, a ruling party deputy chairman, announced the decision on Tuesday after Turkey’s top electoral authority rejected a request for a full recount of votes in the March 31 elections.
Yavuz maintained there were “significant events and situations” that affected the outcome of the vote and said the party would use a right for an “extraordinary appeal.”
Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, or AKP, suffered a major setback in the elections. Opposition candidates won in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, and squeezed out the ruling party in Istanbul.
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9:35 a.m.
Turkey’s top electoral authority has rejected a request by the ruling party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a full recount of votes in the Istanbul mayoral race.
Recep Ozel, a member of the Supreme Electoral Board, said early Tuesday that the electoral authority has, however, allowed a recount of 51 ballot boxes in the city. The board was still to rule on a demand for a re-run of the vote in one Istanbul district.
Erdogan’s party suffered a major setback in the country’s March 31 local elections. Opposition candidates won in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, and squeezed out Erdogan’s party in Istanbul.
The ruling party has demanded a recount, maintaining that the elections were marred by irregularities. The opposition denounced the claim as a ploy to secure a re-run.
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