Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine greet supporters in Ankara, Turkey April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that his AK Party appeared to have lost Sunday’s mayoral elections in Istanbul, but added that they remained “the number one party” in Turkey.

“In Istanbul, the majority of the districts are either ours or head-to-head. What does this mean? Even if our people gave away the mayorship, they gave the districts to the AK Party,” he told supporters in Ankara.

Erdogan also said his party would appeal results wherever needed, and added that he would take the necessary measures at ministries and institutions to make the system of governance more dynamic. He said there would not be other elections for four and a half years.