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TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has backed his party’s demands for recounts in last week’s mayoral elections, claiming today that it had been robbed of victory.
Mr Erdogan’s ruling AKP party narrowly lost Istanbul to the opposition CHP candidate Ekrem Imamoglu as well as losing control of the capital, Ankara, but the AKP has claimed that there were irregularities with “almost all” of the vote ballots.
“We are seeing that some organised crimes have been carried out,” Mr Erdogan said. “There is an element of robbery in all of this. There was some theft at the ballot box.”
The Supreme Electoral Council originally said Mr Imamoglu was winning by about 20,000 ballots, but that gap has narrowed in a week of recounts. Both parties say the difference is now less than 17,000 ballots.
Electoral council head Sadi Guven has been criticised by opposition parties for having close connections to the AKP. He was appointed by Mr Erdogan.
Labour Party of Turkey (EMEP) deputy leader Levent Tuzel said the council should not bow to pressure. He said recounts would be a major loss for the struggle for democracy in the country.
“Since the election, the government is pushing forward with an interference operation by not recognising the results under a pretence of ‘lawfulness’,” Mr Tuzel said.
He added that it was clear Mr Imamoglu had won the majority of votes in Istanbul, despite recounts overturning results in some Istanbul districts.
“The common sense of the public is being tested, lies are being told and provocative propaganda is being published,” Mr Tuzel said. “Clearly, election laws are being abused.”
Despite winning the majority of votes nationwide, the defeats in the two main cities are considered to be a major setback for the AKP after a more than a decade in power. Istanbul is the largest and most powerful city in Turkey, leading economic development in the country.
The AKP also sought recounts in Ankara but the result has been upheld and CHP candidate Mansur Yavas formally received his mandate as new mayor today.
