'In America, Elections are Repeated if There is One Percent Problematic Votes'

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President and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the Atatürk Airport in İstanbul today (April 8), before his flight to Moscow.

Responding to a question by the reporters on the recounts, Erdoğan said, "In this business, the election process is done. The process hereafter is the judicial process."

"The irregularities are not few, it is almost wholly irregular"

AKP Deputy Chair for Elections Ali İhsan Yavuz said that they appealed for the cancellation of the election in the district of Büyükçekmece and a recount in the all 38 districts of İstanbul, on the ground of irregularities.

On these appeals, Erdoğan said, "The irregularities, of course, are not few, it is almost wholly irregular. As I said before, the election process is done. The process hereafter is the judicial process.

"The patron of the judicial process is, as you know, the YSK (Supreme Election Council). It is about all the parties, not something that belongs to the AK Party."

"We saw organized crime here"

"They say 'We saw organized crimes committed here, we are seeing that. We, as the political party, also determined some organized action took place. When we are going to the YSK, we have documents, information, and even findings from television and camera footage.

"With all these findings, where and how kind of irregularities were made? By showing empty terrains, fields as residing addresses... Can there be anything more evidenced than this? We will take this step."

"There is something to do within the law"

"There are around 320 or 330 thousand invalid votes. If you say 'We can't do the recount of this', then there is one thing beyond that. There is something to do within the law. It is our most natural right to expect this from YSK.

"In the past, there are examples of these in Yalova, İn Ağrı. ın the world, let alone objections, if there is like one percent problematic votes in America, they hold snap elections. Or, let's not say snap elections, they repeat elections.

"In İstanbul where there are more than 10 million voters, no one has the right to give themselves air as 'I won an election by a 13 or 14 thousand votes difference."

"There is an aspect of theft"

"There are complaints at the prosecutor's offices, that is a different topic. That aspect is different.

"There is an aspect of theft in this business. And there is theft at the ballot boxes. Now, our appeal at the YSK is directed at the organized intervention at the ballot boxes." (AS/VK)