Prosecutors Investigate Istanbul Election Irregularities

Prosecutors have launched 32 investigations into alleged irregularities during local elections in Istanbul that resulted in a narrow victory for the opposition.

State-run Anadolu Agency said Thursday authorities want to question more than 100 people for alleged fraud during the vote count and the entering of data in three Istanbul districts.

The move comes as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party presses ahead with efforts to have the March 31 Istanbul election results annulled over the alleged irregularities and for the vote there to be repeated.

The AKP has made an “extraordinary appeal” for a re-run of the election in Istanbul, which was won by a coalition of opposition parties headed by Ekrem Imamoglu. He has accused Erdogan’s party of being “bad losers”.

In a major blow to Erdogan, the ruling party also lost its hold over the capital Ankara to the opposition.

Turkey’s top electoral body was expected to consider on Monday a possible re-run of the vote.

Several partial recounts in Ankara and Istanbul have so far supported the initial results, which saw Imamoglu win the Istanbul mayorship by less than 15,000 in a city of more than 15 million.