Turkish authorities on Monday scrapped the result of a vote for Istanbul mayor lost by President Tayyip Erdogan's candidate, responding to calls by his AK Party for a re-run, in a move that hit the lira and drew opposition accusations of 'dictatorship.'
The High Election Board ruled that a fresh Istanbul mayoral contest will be held on June 23. The AK Party representative on the board, Recep Ozel, said the decision was based on unsigned results documents from the March 31 election and on some ballot box officials not being civil servants.
Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), which narrowly won the mayor's office in the country's largest city, called the ruling a 'plain dictatorship'.
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Erdogan speaks during a ceremony at presidential palace, in Ankara on Monday afternoon. Earlier on Monday the High Election Board ruled there should be a rerun of the mayoral elections Erdogan's party lost
Ekrem Imamoglu, the CHP mayor who officially took office after a smattering of recounts were completed across Istanbul last month, will be removed from his position after the shock decision
Imamoglu gestures to the crowd as he speaks during a protest against the re-run of Istanbul mayoral election which took place on Monday night
Kati Piri, the European Parliament's Turkey rapporteur, said the decision 'ends the credibility of democratic transition of power through elections' in the country.
Reuters witnesses said people were banging on pots and pans in protest against the ruling in several Istanbul districts.
The AKP had appealed for an election re-run after initial results and a series of recounts showed it had lost control of Istanbul for the first time in 25 years.
It was a shock loss for Erdogan, who in the 1990s served as the city's mayor and had campaigned hard ahead of the nationwide local vote, his first electoral test since last year's sharp currency crisis tipped the Turkish economy into recession.
The Turkish lira weakened and was at 6.1075 against the dollar at 1730 GMT, on track for its worst day in more than a month.
The currency has tumbled more than 10 percent since a week before the initial election. Suspense over the ruling had left investors worried that weeks of additional campaigning would divert funds and attention from addressing economic reforms.
Imamoglu, the opposition, Republican People's Party's (CHP) mayoral candidate in Istanbul, whipped crowds into a frenzy over the decision on Monday night
Supporters of Ekrem Imamoglu chant in support of the deposed mayor during a huge rally in Istanbul to voice anger at the decision
Inflation near 20 percent and unemployment near 15 percent drove many voters to abandon the AKP in the initial vote
Supporters of Ekrem Imamoglu lit flares and waved flags as they attended the rally to voice their support for his position as mayor
'This is damaging for Turkey's perception as a democracy and will leave Turkey's economy vulnerable, given risks to macro financial stability in the period to July,' said Timothy Ash of Blue Bay Asset Management.
Inflation near 20 percent and unemployment near 15 percent drove many voters to abandon the AKP in the initial vote. Before the second vote, tensions with the United States could escalate over Turkey's planned purchase of a Russian S-400 missile defence system, which could trigger U.S. sanctions.
It was unclear how the CHP and its supporters would respond to a re-run given suspicions over the YSK's political independence from the AKP, which in recent years has centralized power in the presidency away from other institutions.
One CHP member of parliament, Mehmet Bekaroglu, said on Arti TV that the AKP pressured and threatened YSK judges with prison if they voted against a re-run. Piri of the European Parliament also said pressure was applied to re-do the elections.
'It is illegal to win against the AK Party,' CHP Deputy Chairman Onursal Adiguzel said on Twitter. 'This system that overrules the will of the people and disregards the law is neither democratic, nor legitimate.'
Turkey last held a re-run of general elections in 2015 when the AK Party failed for the first time since its founding to form a single-party government
Erdogan's AKP had been so assured of winning that posters were put up across Istanbul to thank voters before results were announced
