ANKARA – Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council rejected a demand fromPresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party for a recount of all ballots cast inIstanbul in last week’s election, the party’s deputy chairman said onTuesday.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) challenged the results ofIstanbul’s March 31 mayoral ballot after their candidate Binali Yildirimnarrowly lost against the main opposition CHP’s Ekrem Imamoglu.
The Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) “rejected our call for all votes to berecounted in Istanbul,” the AKP’s Ali Ihsan Yavuz said on Twitter. “It isincomprehensible for a decision like this to be made when theirregularities are clear to see.”
He said the AKP would make an “extraordinary challenge” to the electoralcouncil, indicating the party would not accept defeat in Istanbul.
Erdogan on Monday questioned the results, claiming there had been “theft”at the ballot box and “organised crimes” were carried out in Istanbul, thecountry’s economic hub.
A separate recount of just voided ballots in Istanbul is almost complete.
The AKP already lost the capital Ankara, and defeat in Istanbul, thecountry’s largest city, would be another blow to Erdogan’s party after adecade and a half in power.
Both Istanbul candidates claimed victory after preliminary tallies showeda dead heat.
Electoral officials later said Imamoglu was ahead but the gap has narrowedto around 15,000 votes.
Recep Ozel, the AKP’s representative on the YSK board, told reporters inAnkara early Tuesday that the electoral council accepted the party’schallenge of “irregularities” in ballot boxes.
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But there would only be a partial recount of 51 ballot boxes in 21 Istanbuldistricts.
The AKP had called for a full recount in most of the 39 districts ofIstanbul, but the council rejected that.
A decision for one Istanbul district, Buyukcekmece, had been delayedbecause of an investigation into fraud claims.
Istanbul police were investigating claims 11,186 people changed theiraddresses to Buyukcekmece before the local elections, DHA news agencyreported.
Ozel also said the difference between Imamoglu and Yildirim was now just14,604 ballots, while the latest figures from the CHP suggested thedifference was around 15,000.
Electoral authorities last week said Imamoglu was ahead by 28,000 votesbefore the recount of void ballots begun.
A CHP official said the YSK’s decision would “not affect” the result forImamoglu. – APP/AFP
