According to polling station officials from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), after recounting ballots in 12 districts of İstanbul the difference between ruling party candidate Binali Yıldırım and opposition candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu has increased by 22 votes in favor of the latter, the Diken news website reported on Thursday.
On Monday Turkey’s Supreme Election Board (YSK) announced that İmamoğlu won İstanbul by a narrow margin.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) objected to the results and requested a recount in certain districts.
AKP Co-chair Ali İhsan Yavuz on Thursday reported that after the recounts Yıldırım’s vote had increased by 1,641 and that the ruling party would emerge as the winner in İstanbul; however, İmamoğlu stated that he was still ahead of Yıldırım by more than 19,000 votes after the reassessment.
Meanwhile, AKP Secretary-General Fatih Şahin told reporters on Thursday that the party was also unhappy with the Ankara recount, which was seen as confirming the opposition’s victory, and would appeal for a second, wider, check of all the results, Reuters reported.
