Turkish Ruling Party Files Appeal Against Results Of Istanbul Mayoral Election - Reports

Turkish Ruling Party Files Appeal Against Results of Istanbul Mayoral Election - Reports

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) filed on Tuesday an appeal with the Supreme Election Council against the results of the recent mayoral election in the country's biggest city of Istanbul, the Anadolu news agency reported

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2019) Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) filed on Tuesday an appeal with the Supreme Election Council against the results of the recent mayoral election in the country's biggest city of Istanbul, the Anadolu news agency reported.

Earlier in the day, the move was announced by AKP deputy head Ali Ihsan Yavuz, who explained the need to appeal against the results of the mayoral election by alleged multiple violations of voting procedures.

"We have suspicions [about Istanbul's elections] and we still were not able to resolve these doubts," Yavuz said, as quoted by the news agency.

On March 31, Turkish citizens voted in municipal elections, choosing new mayors of cities, municipal leaders, heads of villages and members of village councils, among others. According to the preliminary results of the mayoral election in Istanbul, AKP's Binali Yildirim lost to Ekrem Imamoglu, the candidate from the Republican People's Party, by a narrow margin.

In early April, the Turkish Election board launched a recount of the votes after an appeal submitted by the AKP. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that many votes had been stolen from AKP during the voting in Istanbul.