Erdogan's AKP says it will appeal Ankara results, expects outcome to shift

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) said on Monday it expected to shift the outcome of local elections in Ankara in their favour through its appeals, after the main opposition won control of the capital in Sunday's mayoral elections.

Erdogan suffered stunning setbacks in local elections as his AKP lost control of Ankara for the first time since the party's founding in 2001, and was on course to lose the biggest prize of all, Istanbul.

Speaking to reporters in Ankara, AKP Secretary General Fatih Sahin said his party would appeal election results in every district of the capital. He said the AKP would make “significant progress” as a result of these appeals.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said the main opposition's candidate in Istanbul had a lead of 0.28 percentage points over his AKP rival with 99.8 percent of ballot boxes opened, after both parties claimed victory Turkey's biggest city.