Turkey's Erdogan: Election over, now judiciary decides

By Ali Murat Alhas</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Five days after Sunday’s local polls across Turkey, the election itself is over but the judicial process continues, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.</p> <p>“If the results of the provincial [electoral councils] don’t overlap with ours, then the Supreme Electoral Council is the final decision-maker for us,” Erdogan said following Friday prayers in Istanbul.</p> <p>“It is our right to apply to it,” he added, referring to the ruling Justice and Development (AK) seeking recounts in major cities like Istanbul and Ankara.</p> <p>The People’s Alliance in the March 31 elections, made up of the AK Party and Nationalist Movement (MHP), got 53.3% of the vote and won 25 of Istanbul’s 39 district municipalities, said Erdogan.</p> <p>He also touted the high voter turnout in Sunday’s polls, some 82%, saying this gives a “lesson in democracy” to the whole world.</p> <p><br></p> <p>* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas