Istanbul vote counting partially complete, opposition candidate claims lead

Turkey's main opposition candidate in Istanbul said on Thursday a recount of Sunday's local election votes was partially complete and the difference between him and the ruling AK party candidate remained around 20,000.

On Wednesday, Turkey's High Election Board (YSK) ruled in favour of a recount of votes in 18 of the city's 39 districts. Opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu said the recount was completed in 9-10 districts on Thursday.

Initial results from Sunday's mayoral elections showed Imamoglu's Republican People's Party (CHP) had narrowly won control of Turkey's two biggest cities, Istanbul and Ankara, in an upset for President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party.