Turkey's Higher Election Board rejects CHP’s appeal

ANKARA

The CHP’s nominee for the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Mansur Yavaş, had requested a vote recount, claiming that there were numerous accounts of fraud in the March 30 elections. AA Photo

Turkey’s top election authority has rejected the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) appeal to cancel the results of the contested local election in the capital city of Ankara.

The CHP’s nominee for the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Mansur Yavaş, had claimed that there were numerous accounts of fraud in the March 30 elections. He appealed to the Higher Election Board (YSK) on April 6, stating that “the will of Ankara’s people is not accurately reflected in the ballot boxes. We expect the YSK to impartially assess this situation and decide for a repeat of the election.”

However, the YSK rejected the appeal with a unanimous vote.

The Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) incumbent candidate Melih Gökçek retained his post for a fifth
term after the elections, having receiving his official approval on April 6.

Yavaş had previously announced that he would apply to the Constitutional Court if his appeal was rejected by the YSK.

Meanwhile, the YSK has accepted the Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) appeal after it lost the municipal elections in Kastamonu by a mere 245 votes to the ruling AKP.