Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says there was “illegality” in Istanbul’s mayoral election after the country’s electoral body ordered it to be re-held.
“We sincerely believe there is organised corruption and complete illegality,” he said on Tuesday.
The decision to re-run the 31 March vote, which returned a slim win for the opposition, sparked protests on Monday.
The opposition CHP’s victorious candidate said it was “treacherous”.
The European Parliament has also said the decision to re-run the election on 23 June would end the credibility of democratic elections in Turkey BBC reported.
The opposition sees the move by the electoral authorities as bowing to Mr Erdogan’s pressure, says the BBC’s correspondent Mark Lowen.
Speaking at a parliamentary meeting of his AK Party, Mr Erdogan said that re-doing the vote was the “best step” for the country.
“We see this decision as to the best step that will strengthen our will to solve problems within the framework of democracy and law,” he said.
He insisted there was “illegality” in the vote and said a re-run would represent “an important step to strengthen our democracy”.
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He also said “thieves” had stolen the “national will” at the ballot box, adding that if they were not held to account “our people will demand an explanation from us”.
An AKP representative on the electoral board, Recep Ozel, said the re-run was called because some electoral officials were not civil servants and some result papers had not been signed.
But CHP deputy chair Onursal Adiguzel said the re-run showed it was “illegal to win against the AK Party”.
Mr Adiguzel tweeted that the decision was “plain dictatorship”.
“This system that overrules the will of the people and disregards the law is neither democratic nor legitimate,” he wrote.
And in a speech broadcast on social media, CHP’s Ekrem Imamoglu, who was confirmed as Istanbul’s mayor before being stripped of the title, condemned the electoral board and said they were influenced by the ruling party.
“We will never compromise on our principles,” he told the crowd. “This country is filled with 82 million patriots who will fight… until the last moment for democracy.”
A supporters’ group for Mr Imamoglu urged restraint, saying: “Let’s stand together, let’s be calm… We will win, we will win again.”
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