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Turkish opposition party will challenge Ankara vote

CHP Ankara Mayoral Candidate Mansur Yavas asks for a recount, declares himself the winner, as the ruling Justice and Development Party showing emboldens Prime Minister Erdogan.
Gursel Tekin (C), main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy chairman, watches election results on TV with party members at the CHP headquarters in Ankara late March 30, 2014. Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AKP party appeared on Sunday to be heading for a clear victory in local polls that have become a referendum on a prime minister facing corruption scandals and security leaks he blames on "traitors" embedded in state bodies. With about half of votes counted, results cited on Turkish television put hi

ANKARA, Turkey — The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) increased its nationwide vote by 7% in the March 30 local elections compared with the ones in 2009. It emerged victorious in 49 of 81 metropolitan municipalities. It won 29 cities with a clear majority, and only fell below 40% of the vote in four of the cities in which it triumphed, showing once again that it has a homogenous presence across the country.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned this election into a confidence vote following the Gezi Park protests and the graft probe that brought even his family members under judicial review, and he proved to be unshakable at the ballot box. While the opposition parties appeared to have all the political weapons needed to score against Erdogan, they were the losers.

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