Turkish ruling party calls for recount of all votes in Istanbul

Turkey's ruling party is preparing to apply to the Supreme Election Council for a recount of all votes cast in Istanbul in last Sunday's local elections, a senior party official said on Sunday.

Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, Ali Ihsan Yavuz, deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), claimed that there was "organized irregularity, organized abuse" in the elections.

"They are beyond errors," Yavuz said, noting his party would deliver its appeal to the electoral council later in the day.

Yavuz made the statement amid the ongoing recount of the so-called "invalid votes" in Turkey's biggest city, as the AKP had previously raised doubts about results in all the districts of Istanbul.

According to the party's data, the latest margin was 16,442 votes, down from the initial 25,000 votes, in favor of the opposition party's candidate, as over 70 percent of the invalid votes were recounted.

Unofficial results showed a tight race between Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayoral candidate for the main opposition Republican People's Party, and Binali Yildirim, the AKP candidate, former prime minister and former speaker of parliament.

Meanwhile, Imamoglu urged the Supreme Election Council to give its decision on the result, reiterating his victory in Istanbul at a press conference.