Turkey poll body for partial Istanbul vote recount

Turkey's Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) on Wednesday ruled for a recount of votes in eight of Istanbul's 39 districts following the ruling party's appeal over Sunday's local election results.

President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Tuesday filed appeals on poll results in all districts of Istanbul and capital Ankara as initial results showed it was on course to lose control of both cities.

The AKP claimed that "tricks and irregularities" happened in the voting process, Xinhua news agency reported.

In Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, mayoral candidate of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) currently has a narrow lead with 48.79 per cent of the votes over the AKP's Binali Yildirim with 48.51 per cent, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.

Both Yildirim and Imamoglu declared victory on Sunday night when tallies showed them in a dead heat.

Imamoglu held a press conference on Wednesday, calling on the electoral authorities to carry out their duty and mandate him as elected Mayor. He said there could be minor errors in vote counts, but the outcome will not change.

--IANS

soni/bg