ANKARA, April 6, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday
accused the US and Europe of “meddling” in Turkey’s affairs after statements
from Western allies following his ruling party’s challenge to local election
results.
Erdogan and his AKP suffered an upset in Sunday’s ballot when results
showed the party lost the capital Ankara and was narrowly defeated in
Istanbul, the country’s largest city and economic hub.
While the United States has called on Turkey to accept the results, the
European Union urged Ankara to allow elected officials to “exercise their
mandate freely”.
But Erdogan rejected the remarks and told the US and Europe to “know your
place”.
“America and Europe are… meddling in Turkey’s internal affairs,” Erdogan
said in his first direct remarks to journalists since Monday.
“Turkey gave a democracy lesson to the whole world,” he added.
US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said “free and fair
elections are essential for any democracy, and this means acceptance of
legitimate election results are essential” during a briefing on Tuesday.
EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic on Monday said Brussels expected elected
local representatives to be able “to exercise their mandate freely and in
line with the principles of the Council of Europe (rights group) to which
Turkey is of course party.”
Andrew Dawson, head of a delegation from the Council of Europe in Turkey to
observe the vote, said on Monday his team was “not fully convinced that
Turkey currently has the free and fair electoral environment which is
necessary for genuinely democratic elections in line with European values and
principles.”
– ‘Over by weekend’ –
The two rival Istanbul candidates both declared victory soon after the vote
when initial results showed them in a dead heat. The AKP appealed after
electoral authorities later said the opposition’s Ekrem Imamoglu had taken a
very slim lead.
The Turkish head of state hit out at American and European criticism over
his party’s push for appeals.
“In your own countries, you have launched appeals.”
Erdogan fought hard before the vote, holding rallies across Turkey where he
described the election of mayors and district councils as a battle for the
nation’s survival.
But voters, concerned with the rising cost of living, double-digit
inflation and unemployment, opted for the opposition in the country’s two
biggest cities.
CHP opposition candidate Imamoglu told Fox Haber broadcaster earlier the
difference between himself and the AKP’s candidate, Binali Yildirim, was now
18,742 votes.
He said nearly 120,000 previously annulled votes had been recounted in 17
Istanbul districts, with 2,184 extra votes being allowed for Yildirim, and
785 for himself.
Imamoglu estimated the final difference could finish between 18,000 to
20,000 once counting ended, probably by Sunday. Nearly 200,000 more votes
still need to be recounted, he said.
“It should be over by the end of the weekend,” he told the station.
The AKP has said the recount will show its candidate won.
The Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), meanwhile, said none of
its appeals for recounts had been accepted by election boards, even when
candidates had won by only a few votes.
The HDP supported the CHP — to protest the government’s “harsh policies”
in Kurdish-majority cities — by not fielding its own candidates and
splitting the anti-Erdogan vote in western Turkey.
It said it had challenged the rulings and would “appeal to the Supreme
Elections Board if provincial boards, too, reject our appeals”.
– Ankara recount –
Election authorities are providing ongoing recount details to observers
from both parties to ensure transparency. Political parties have until April
10 to challenge the results.
A defeat in Istanbul would be especially sensitive for Erdogan who made his
political career as mayor of the city. The AKP or its predecessors had held
both cities since 1994.
Opposition candidate Mansur Yavas of the CHP beat the AKP’s Mehmet Ozhaseki
in Ankara, according to preliminary results.
AKP officials have said they believe there was a huge discrepancy in both
cities between ballots cast at polling stations and the actual data sent to
election authorities.
Erdogan on Friday said his party won 24 out of 39 districts of Istanbul,
but said: “The final decision will be taken by the Supreme Election Board.”