İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediye Başkanı Ekrem İmamoğlu'nun elleri siyasetin en son tartışma konularından. Source: AAP
Turkey’s top election watchdog the Supreme Election Board (YSK) last night ordered the repeat of the mayoral elections in Istanbul, citing irregularities. It said that officials overseeing the ballot box in some parts of the Turkey’s commercial and cultural capital were not state servants. Speaking after the vote’s cancelation, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was declared the winner and was serving as mayor until last night, condemned the decision and called for support form all. The candidate form the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti), Binali Yıldırım, said the YSK decision needed to be respected. İmamoğlu had won the vote by only 13,000 votes out of around 10 million cast. His win, coming after more than 20 years of local government rule by conservative parties, came as a serious shock. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had also called for a repeat of the vote. Last week, more than 100 ballot box officials were questioned by the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office, with many later being formally accused of being members of the Gülen Movement, which is classified as a terrorist group and is accused of being behind the 2016 military coup attempt. After YSK’s decision, the Turkish currency the lira depreciated against the dollar, falling to 4.21 liras against the dollar. Against the U.S. dollar, it depreciated to 6.09 liras. The new elections will be held on June 23. (AUDIO IN TURKISH)
Turkey’s top election watchdog the Supreme Election Board (YSK) last night ordered the repeat of the mayoral elections in Istanbul, citing irregularities. It said that officials overseeing the ballot box in some parts of the Turkey’s commercial and cultural capital were not state servants. Speaking after the vote’s cancelation, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was declared the winner and was serving as mayor until last night, condemned the decision and called for support form all. The candidate form the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti), Binali Yıldırım, said the YSK decision needed to be respected. İmamoğlu had won the vote by only 13,000 votes out of around 10 million cast. His win, coming after more than 20 years of local government rule by conservative parties, came as a serious shock. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had also called for a repeat of the vote. Last week, more than 100 ballot box officials were questioned by the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office, with many later being formally accused of being members of the Gülen Movement, which is classified as a terrorist group and is accused of being behind the 2016 military coup attempt. After YSK’s decision, the Turkish currency the lira depreciated against the dollar, falling to 4.21 liras against the dollar. Against the U.S. dollar, it depreciated to 6.09 liras. The new elections will be held on June 23. (AUDIO IN TURKISH)
