Erdogan claims that Istanbul voting was irregular after AKP asks for full recount

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday raised the stakes in an escalating dispute over Istanbul’s mayoral election, describing the poll as riddled with irregularities.

Erdogan had previously appeared sanguine about the apparent loss of Turkey’s biggest city after local elections, telling supporters that the opposition candidate would be a “lame duck” due to the ruling party’s continued majority in the municipal council.

But speaking after his Justice and Development party (AKP) applied for a full recount in Istanbul, he said on Monday that there was evidence of “organised crimes” during the vote. According to a report of his remarks by the state-run Anadolu news agency, he said that almost all of it was irregular.

Via FT 

Discover more from The Dispatch

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Verified by MonsterInsights