Top election body rejects CHP application for Hatay reelection

ANKARA

Türkiye's Supreme Election Council (YSK) has announced that it has rejected an application logged by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to annul the mayoral election in the southern city of Hatay.

The announcement also included the rejection of other applications from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to renew elections in the northeastern province of Ardahan and the eastern province of Ağrı.

A regional authority's decision to award the mayoral certificate to AKP candidate Mehmet Öntürk amid ongoing disputes has prompted CHP to escalate its challenge to the Supreme Election Council (YSK).

CHP leader Özgür Özel personally presented the petition to YSK head Ahmet Yener. Following the meeting, Özel, along with party deputies and several mayors, convened in front of the YSK premises in the capital Ankara on April 7 to issue a press statement.

Addressing the gathering, CHP secretary-general Selin Sayek Böke alleged that 3,389 votes were cast in the names of deceased individuals in Hatay during the March 31 polls.

"For this reason, we want the elections to be annulled... Our expectation from the YSK is that they be objective and make decisions in accordance with the law, regardless of which party the petition belongs to," Böke stated.

The lack of clarity regarding the reasons for vote invalidation was also central to CHP's 86-page document submitted to the electoral authorities, she said.

Hatay, ravaged by last year's devastating earthquakes claiming over 24,000 lives in the city alone, has been a focal point of political debate. CHP's former mayor, Lütfü Savaş, who was renominated for the mayoral position, suffered defeat by around 3,000 votes, according to official records.

Critics have pointed fingers at Savaş's tenure, citing collapses of buildings constructed during his term as mayor and his perceived mishandling of post-earthquake recovery efforts.

AKP officials in Hatay have previously dismissed the claims as an attempt to delay proceedings and "obscure past irregularities.”

Hatay, with over 1 million eligible voters and more than 3,400 ballot boxes, recorded a participation rate of around 75 percent.