Erdogan cites irregularities, defends Istanbul vote recount
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday defended his party’s plans to demand a full recount of votes cast in mayoral elections in Istanbul, claiming that “almost all” of the voting was marred by irregularities.
Erdogan suffered a major setback in last week’s local elections after the opposition took control of the capital, Ankara, and won a tight race for Istanbul, after 25 years of rule by the ruling party and its Islamist party predecessor.
A partial recount of votes — mostly of ballot papers that were previously deemed invalid — demanded by Erdogan’s ruling party, is taking place in several Istanbul districts, but the party said it will apply to the country’s top electoral board to demand a recount of all of the ballots.
