ISTANBUL — Turkey’s ruling party wants to void a mayoral election in Istanbul that preliminary results show it lost, claiming Tuesday that irregularities had swayed the outcome and that electoral officials should order a new vote. The presumptive winner warned his opponents that the extraordinary measure would cost the city dearly.
Ekrem Imamoglu of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) edged former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in the bitterly contested election March 31, but the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has thrown up a series of hurdles since to thwart Imamoglu's apparent victory.