Some votes to be reassessed in 7 districts of Istanbul

By Ferdi Turkten

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey's Supreme Election Council (YSK) decided early Wednesday that some votes will be reassessed in seven districts of Istanbul following weekend local elections.

Earlier, the district electoral councils of Sile, Bayrampasa, Atasehir, Umraniye, Beykoz, Fatih and Gaziosmanpasa decided to reassess votes that were initially deemed invalid after the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party filed appeals with the councils.

However, the Istanbul Provincial Election Council decided to halt the review and recount of these votes following an appeal by the main opposition Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP).

The AK Party filed an objection over the decision.

The YSK then held an extraordinary meeting to discuss the Provincial Election Council’s decision and decided to overturn it.

On Tuesday, the AK Party officially challenged poll results in 39 district municipalities under 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 the AK Party’s Binali Yildirim, with 48.51 percent.

On Sunday, millions of Turkish citizens cast ballots in the local elections to choose Turkey’s mayors, city council members, mukhtars (neighborhood officials) and members of elder councils for the next five years.

*Writing by Sena Guler