UPDATE 2 – Istanbul revote decision 'important step for democracy'

<p>UPDATES WITH MORE QUOTES BY TURKISH PRESIDENT </p> <p>By Faruk Zorlu and Muhammet Emin Avundukluoglu </p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called the country’s top election body's decision for a do-over election in Istanbul an &quot;important step in strengthening Turkey's democracy&quot;. </p> <p>&quot;We see this decision of the Turkish Supreme Election Council (YSK), which will remove the shadow over Istanbul elections, an important step in strengthening Turkey's democracy,&quot; Erdogan said during his address to lawmakers of his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party at the parliament group meeting in the capital Ankara. </p> <p>His remarks came a day after Turkey’s Supreme Election Council (YSK) announced that a do-over election in Istanbul will be held on June 23. </p> <p>The council members accepted the AK Party's objection to the local election results in Istanbul with seven votes in favor and four against. </p> <p>The YSK said that the decision was taken as some ballot committee members who served during the elections were not civil servants as required by law. </p> <p>“There is no such thing that AK Party does not accept the result that comes out from the ballot box,&quot; Erdogan said. </p> <p>&quot;We sincerely believe organized corruption, utter lawlessness and irregularity occurred in the Istanbul elections,&quot; he added.</p> <p>Later on, Erdogan responded to the journalists' questions in the parliament.</p> <p>Erdogan said that Binali Yildirim will run as People's Alliance’s mayoral candidate in the do-over elections in Istanbul and that Istanbul's governor Ali Yerlikaya will perform mayoral duties until the revote on June 23.</p> <p>The Turkish president said a new “resolution process” was out of question in Turkey.</p> <p>In early 2013, under then-Prime Minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish government launched an initiative publicly known as the resolution process to end the decades-old conflict with the PKK, whose terrorist campaign has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people over 30 years. </p> <p>The process stalled in 2015 after the murder of a number of police officers and soldiers, which the PKK claimed responsibility for. </p>