Supreme Election Council Cancels İstanbul Local Elections

In a written statement, the ministry said the March 31 local elections were observed by a delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, who said they were “impressed by the proficiency” of the Supreme Election Council (YSK).

The statement said the YSK had assessed the appeals lodged by use of legal rights concerning various provinces and towns and had passed decisions, and while the YSK rejected some of the appeals, it concluded to rerun the elections in Istanbul.

“Everyone should respect this decision that was taken on the basis of law. We do not accept politically motivated criticism by some of our foreign interlocutors regarding this decision and the Supreme Election Council,” it said.

The statement said Turkey has already proven its democratic maturity.

“The decision of the independent Supreme Election Council aims at ensuring the manifestation of the will of the electorate without any doubt,” it added.

The YSK on Monday announced that a do-over election in Istanbul would be held on June 23.

The council members accepted the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s objection to election results, with seven votes in favor and four against.

The YSK said earlier that the decision was taken as some ballot committee members who served during the elections were not civil servants as required by law.

[adrotate banner=”71″]