Metropolitan Mayors of İzmir and Ankara Receive Their Certificates of Election

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Tunç Soyer and Mansur Yavaş, who were the candidates of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and İYİ Party for the Metropolitan Mayosrhips of İzmir and Ankara respectively, have received their certificates of election a week after the March 31 Local Elections.

After the Supreme Election Council (YSK) announced the local election results for Ankara, Yavaş received his certificate of election today (April 8).

According to the initial unofficial results announced by the YSK on April 1, while Mansur Yavaş received 1 million 662 thousand 183 votes (50.93 percent), Mehmet Özhaseki, the candidate of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), received 1 million 537 thousand 694 votes (47.12 percent), which accounted for a margin of 124 thousand 489 votes.

The number of invalid votes was also announced as 99 thousand 229.

On April 1, the AKP objected to the results in Ankara on a district basis. Among the objections raised by the AKP for 25 districts of Ankara, the requests for recount of invalid votes were accepted only in Altındağ, Bala, Çamlıdere, Çubuk, Evren, Keçiören, Kızılcahamam, Polatlı, Pursaklar, Şereflikoçhisar and Sincan. It requests were rejected in 14 districts.

After the votes were recounted, the AKP has only received 1,807 votes.

Afterwards, the AKP appealed to the Ankara Provincial Election Council, requesting that votes cast in all districts be counted again. After an immediate decision of objection by the YSK for 13 districts, there has remained no possibility for the narrowing of the gap.

Mansur Yavaş received his certificate of election today.

Tunç Soyer also receives his certificate of election

* Photograph: Mahmut Serdar Alakuş/ İzmir/ AA

Being elected the 35th Metropolitan Mayor of İzmir from the Nation Alliance, Tunç Soyer also received his certificate of election today.

Having received his certificate, Soyer made the following remarks: "I am the 35th Mayor of İzmir. It is really a great honor. Today is also the birthday of late Ahmet Piriştina, one of the legendary mayors of İzmir. On this occasion, I would like to say that I will lay claim to his inheritance.

"Today, I am taking over this duty, but I also know that it is a watch duty and we will perform this duty with a great sense of responsibility."

Concluding his remarks, Soyer, who received his certificate before Mansur Yavaş, also stated, "I wish that it will also be a lesson for those who do not empty those seats in Ankara and İstanbul." (PT/HK/SD)