Turkey: Winning candidates to receive mayoral status

By Ayse Sensoy Boztepe and Mehmet Tosun

ANKARA (AA) - Head of Turkey's election authority announced on Tuesday that mayoral status will be handed to winning candidates if there is no contest to the polls results.

Speaking to reporters in the capital Ankara, Sadi Guven, head of Supreme Electoral Council (YSK), said: “The certificate of election will be given in places where there is no objection [to election results].”

Guven also said that preliminary results of local polls were shared with political parties, and the process for applying to the YSK to contest the poll results continues through Wednesday.

- March 31 local elections in Turkey

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

Turkey's AK Party is leading in 15 metropolitan municipalities (larger cities), with 24 cities claimed by AK Party candidates, according to unofficial results.

The CHP’s Imamoglu, with 48.79 percent of the votes, has a narrow lead over Yildirim, with 48.51 percent for Istanbul mayorship.

Mansur Yavas, the CHP’s mayoral candidate in Ankara, is leading with 50.91 percent of votes, according to unofficial results, with the AK Party’s Mehmet Ozhaseki trailing at 47.1 percent.

*Writing by Beyza Binnur Donmez