CHP appeals election results from 2018
ANKARA
The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has asked the Supreme Election Board (YSK) to cancel the 2018 presidential and parliamentary elections as well as elections for 39 Istanbul districts.
The appeal piggybacked on the board’s decision on May 6 to annul the victory of main opposition candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, as the Istanbul mayor.
“If the YSK (Supreme Election Board) is sure about its decision on the Istanbul elections, then it should also revoke the mandate of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan because the same laws, regulations and same polling stations officials were applied in both elections,” Muharrem Erkek, deputy CHP leader, told reporters after filing the appeal.
Erkek recalled that the YSK based its decision to annul the March 31 Istanbul elections on the grounds that many members serving at the polling station committees were not civil servants.
“A good majority of the heads of these polling station committees were in charge in the presidential and parliamentary elections that took place in June 2018. If the YSK stands behind its decision on Istanbul, then it should cancel 2018 elections as well,” Erkek said.
The appeal by the CHP suggests that unlawfulness occurred in the 2018 elections and therefore that the YSK should inquire into the accusations, as statute of limitation does not apply in such cases, he added.
Pointing out the fact that the YSK annulled only the election for Istanbul mayor - although voters also voted for 39 district mayors, municipal council and neighborhood heads, Erkek said, “it’s incomprehensible why the rule only corresponds to the mayor of Istanbul.”
The Election Law charges YSK with preparing all the conditions for the elections, including setting up polling station committees, Erkek stated.
“If there is an illegal situation, it’s the YSK to blame, not the voters or the candidates. How come the YSK shift the blame?” he asked.
Good Party follows the CHP
After the CHP, the Good (İYİ) Party submitted its own appeal seeking cancelation of all local elections in Istanbul on the same grounds as the CHP.
The YSK was scheduled to convene in late afternoon on May 8 to discuss the appeals by the CHP and the Good Party.
