Turkey’s ruling party defeated in repeat election

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suffered a major blow after his candidate for Istanbul mayor was defeated in a repeat election. Mr Erdogan tweeted to congratulate opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu, who led with 54 per cent in early results compared to 45 per cent for the Turkish president's chosen candidate, Binali Yildirim. ‘I congratulate Ekrem Imamoglu who won the election according to unofficial results,' the President said. Mr Imamoglu previously won a mayoral election on March 3, but Mr Erdogan's ruling AK Party challenged the vote and the results were annulled after weeks of partial recounts. The opposition candidate was stripped of the post of mayor after serving just 18 days and another election was ordered. Image: Twitter / Ekrem Imamoglu

from World | Daily Telegraph http://bit.ly/2RxYg1a