Turkey: New municipal election to be held in Istanbul

The Higher Electoral Council (YSK) on Monday decided to cancel the victory of the opposition to the municipal elections in Istanbul and to hold a new election in the first city of Turkey, Turkish official media reported.

The Republican People's Party (CHP, secular opposition) won in the March 31st municipal elections in the capital, Ankara, as well as in Istanbul, for the first time in 25 years, inflicting a snub on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , who himself was mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s.

But the AKP, the Islamist-conservative party of the head of state, and their nationalist allies in the MHP had demanded a re-election in Istanbul, citing irregularities that they said had affected the outcome of the ballot.

The AKP representative in the Higher Electoral Council, Recep Ozel, said on Twitter that the municipal news in Istanbul would be held on June 23..........