ANKARA: Turkey’s secular opposition received a setback yesterday in a province-level ruling that rejected a vote recount in contested local elections in the capital Ankara.
The opposition has claimed the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rigged the result in the symbolic race last Sunday, where the AKP incumbent claimed a narrow victory.
The Ankara Electoral Board yesterday rejected an opposition appeal for a recount, CNN-Turk television reported, although the final decision will come at an unknown date from the national Supreme Electoral Board.
On Tuesday riot police used water cannon against about 2,000 supporters of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), who alleged election fraud after the AKP candidate declared victory with a one-percent margin.
Sunday’s municipal polls were seen as a referendum on the 11-year-rule of Erdogan, who is popular with many Turks for driving strong economic growth but has been accused of an increasingly authoritarian ruling style.
Turkey’s two biggest cities, Istanbul and Ankara, were the top prizes in the elections, in which Erdogan’s AKP declared sweeping wins, despite recent graft claims against the premier’s inner circle and an Internet clampdown.
The race was especially tight and symbolic in Ankara, the inland capital built by the secular founding father of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who established the CHP, now the main opposition group.
Melih Gokcek, Ankara’s AKP mayor for 20 years, scored 44.79 percent against 43.77 percent for CHP candidate Mansur Yavas, according to the provisional results.
Since Monday, hundreds of volunteers, mostly students, have been comparing and recounting votes for CHP after widespread allegations of irregularities spread on social media.
“We are confident that our candidate has won this race,” a source at CHP’s mayoral campaign said.
Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) said it would consider all the challenges before announcing a final result, a process likely to take weeks.
The streets around the YSK building in Ankara were blocked by police on Thursday, after thousands of protesters calling for a recount had been dispersed by water cannon earlier in the week.
Agencies
