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Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Turkey's Erdogan Files to Annul Istanbul Election

By Elizabeth Teoman

Key Takeaway: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took the next major step in a campaign to reverse significant opposition gains in the 2019 Turkish Local Elections. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) formally applied to annul and redo the municipal election in Istanbul - the economic heart of Turkey. Erdogan will maintain pressure on election authorities to issue a ruling in his favor within the coming days. The reversal if upheld threatens to further erode the fragile democratic institutions of Turkey and deal a painful blow to the opposition in Erdogan’s Turkey.

[Read the related assessments of the 2019 Turkish local elections here and here.]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan formally applied to annul unfavorable election results in Istanbul. Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Chair Ali Ihsan Yavuz announced the submission of a petition to annul and redo local elections in Istanbul to the Turkish Supreme Election Board on April 16. The AKP lost a tight race to the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Istanbul in the 2019 Turkish Local Elections. Subsequent partial recounts have narrowed but not overturned the lead held by CHP Istanbul Mayor-Elect Ekrem Imamoglu. AKP Istanbul Mayoral Candidate Binali Yildirim - a former prime minister under Erdogan - has claimed that he would win the election if “all votes are recounted” in Istanbul.

The Turkish Supreme Election Board has thus far only approved partial recounts in Istanbul. The body ruled in favor of a limited recount of ballots in the opposition-leaning Maltepe District of Istanbul on April 15. This decision favored the opposition, which aimed to avoid a full recount of ballots in Maltepe District. It previously postponed a meeting on whether to annul the vote in the opposition-leaning Buyukcekmece District of Istanbul on April 12. The Turkish Supreme Election Board has already rejected a full recount but it could ultimately rule in favor of a partial annulment in Istanbul leading to new local elections as early as June 2019.

Erdogan’s bid if successful will represent a serious reversal for his political opponents and further solidify his authoritarian hold over Turkey. The annulment request marks one of his most brazen attempts yet to undermine the legitimate results of an election and threatens to further erode the fragile democratic institutions of Turkey. The Council of Europe urged the Turkish Supreme Election Board to “accept the will of the people” or risk damage to “basic democratic principles” in Turkey on April 16. Erdogan has already secured a stranglehold on political life through his long-standing campaign to jail, intimidate, and otherwise delegitimize the political opposition. A reversal in Istanbul would be a painful defeat for dissidents in Erdogan’s Turkey.