Parties begin contesting poll results in Turkey

By Gozde Bayar and Sibel Morrow

ANKARA (AA) - Political parties on Tuesday began contesting the results of Turkey’s weekend local elections on the grounds of "irregularities" in numerous cities.

Turkish voters cast ballots nationwide Sunday in elections to choose mayors, city council members, mukhtars (neighborhood officials), and members of elder councils for the next five years.

The ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party is leading in 15 metropolitan municipalities (larger cities), with 24 smaller cities also claimed by AK Party candidates, according to unofficial results.

- Justice and Development (AK) Party

Earlier Tuesday, the AK Party officially challenged poll results in 39 districts in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Bayram Senocak, the party’s Istanbul provincial head, said it had found "significant discrepancies" in poll results.

In the Istanbul mayor’s race, Ekrem Imamoglu of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), with 48.79 percent of the votes, currently has a narrow lead over AK Party’s Binali Yildirim, with 48.51 percent.

The AK Party also challenged the poll results in all 25 districts of the capital Ankara.

The party’s provincial head Hakan Han Ozcan said his party is also contesting irregularities in 3,217 ballot boxes.

Mansur Yavas, the CHP’s mayoral candidate in Ankara, is currently leading with 50.9 percent of votes, according to unofficial results, with the AK Party’s Mehmet Ozhaseki at 47.1 percent.

The AK Party later challenged the results in the cities of Eskisehir and Yalova.

In Eskisehir, central Turkey, CHP candidate Yilmaz Buyukersen got 285,588 votes, while AK Party candidate Burhan Sakalli got 246,486, according to unofficial results.

On Monday, the AK Party also challenged election results in the Black Sea city of Giresun.

- Nationalist Movement (MHP) Party

In the northwestern city of Kirklareli, Derya Bulut, the candidate from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), legally challenged the results.

Bulut apparently lost the election to independent candidate Mehmet Siyam Kesimoglu by just 248 votes.

Speaking to reporters, Bulut said: "In some ballot boxes, invalid votes were counted, but in others they were not."

The MHP is also contesting results in the cities of Aksaray, Igdir, Yozgat, Kirsehir, Kars, Adana, Aydin, Mersin, and Malatya.

- Good (IYI) Party

The Good (IYI) Party objected to results in the northwestern city of Balikesir as well as in 20 districts.

According to unofficial results, AK Party candidate Yucel Yilmaz was elected mayor of Balikesir with 47.74 percent of the votes, while the IYI Party's Ismail Ok got 46.48 percent.

The IYI Party also challenged results in the Aegean cities of Usak and Afyonkarahisar.

* Ufuk Ertop, Ilkan Toprak, and Yavuz Emrah Sever contributed to this story