By Baris Gundogan and Etem Geylan
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) held an extraordinary assembly meeting on Tuesday after the top election board’s decision for do-over election in Istanbul.
“A major blow was inflicted on our democracy. We must repair and treat this together, ” CHP Istanbul mayoral candidate Ekrem Imamoglu said of the decision by the Supreme Election Council (YSK).
“I want to tell to our nation and the whole of Istanbul that everything will be alright. Together, we will accomplish much for both our democracy and Istanbul, ” he added.
CHP lawmakers decided the party would not boycott the do-over elections in a parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday.
“We started on this path for Istanbul and to serve Istanbul. We will continue with this goal in upcoming elections as well, ” ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party candidate Binali Yildirim said Monday.
“From the very beginning, my opponent and I stated that the decision of the YSK will be binding and valid for everyone, ” Yildirim said.
Turkey’s Supreme Election Council on Monday announced a do-over election in Istanbul to be held on June 23.
It accepted AK Party's objection to the local election results in Istanbul with seven votes in favor and four against.
YSK said the decision was based on the fact that some officials presiding over ballot boxes in the province during at the elections were not civil servants as is required by law.
Millions of Turkish voters cast their votes nationwide on March 31 in local elections to choose mayors, city council members, and other officials for the next five years.
*Writing by Busra Nur Bilgic
