The provincial election board in Istanbul's ruled Thursday that all invalid votes cast in metropolitan municipality elections will be recounted, annulling the decisions by 15 district elections board rejecting recounts for invalid votes.
The margin between ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) Binali Yıldırım and main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) Ekrem Imamoğlu has differed with every recount.
Imamoğlu's initial lead over Yıldırım narrowed to 19,000 after a recount, AK Party Deputy Chairman Ali Ihsan Yavuz announced earlier Thursday.
Imamoğlu, holding a press conference soon after Yavuz, put the current difference in votes at 19,552 after invalid ballots were recounted in 11 districts of Istanbul.
"This process should end with a gap of 18,000 to 20,000 votes even if all votes are recounted," Imamoğlu said, adding that his rival gained 11,000 votes but he also gained 3,500.
Following the elections on Sunday, Sadi Güven, the head of YSK, said Imamoğlu was leading the race with 4,159,650 votes over Yıldırım's 4,131,761 votes.
