Deposed Istanbul mayor Imamoglu blasts ‘lies’ used to annul election

Istanbul’s deposed mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said on Wednesday that no one believed the “lies” used to overturn his recent election. He also called on voters to “correct this great shame” in next month’s re-run, AFP reported.

“Nobody believes their claims,” Imamoglu said at a meeting in Istanbul to launch his re-election campaign. He was referring to the ruling party’s allegations of “irregularities” in March’s mayoral vote. They led the election board to annul Imamoglu’s narrow victory and call a rerun for June 23.

Imamoglu’s victory for the opposition of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) was the first time the ruling party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or its predecessors had lost control of the metropolis in 25 years.

Imamoglu is trying to bring an element of unity to Turkey’s fiercely partisan politics, observers say.