YSK rejects CHP, IP requests for total annulment of Istanbul elections

Turkey's Supreme Election Council (YSK) on Monday rejected appeals made by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and Good Party (IP) for total annulment of the March 31 local elections across all districts of Istanbul.

The decision by the YSK was made unanimously.

The YSK also rejected the CHP and IP's requests for cancellation of last year's presidential and parliamentary elections.

The CHP submitted a request to the YSK on Wednesday to cancel last year's presidential and parliamentary elections as well as the March 31 local polls across all Istanbul districts. The IP made the same request.

CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu responded to the ruling, stating, "We weren't expecting a different result anyway."

The appeals by the CHP and IP came in the wake of YSK's decision to cancel and renew the March 31 metropolitan municipal elections over irregularities.

The renewed mayoral election will be held on June 23.

The YSK said its decision to annul the polls was based on unsigned result documents from the election and on some ballot box officials not being civil servants.

The March 31 elections witnessed a very close race between the People's Alliance candidate Binali Yıldırım and the Nation Alliance candidate Ekrem Imamoğlu. According to unofficial results, Imamoğlu led the polls by almost 13,000 votes in Istanbul where nearly 10 million citizens cast their votes.