A formal request from the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, to invalidate the vote and hold a new election in Istanbul was still pending at the Supreme Electoral Council, officials from both parties said.

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A legal battle over the results of the municipal elections, which were held nationwide March 31, has led to political uncertainty and further undermined investor confidence already rattled by an economic recession.

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The country’s embattled secular opposition secured stunning election victories in several major cities, including the capital, Ankara, dealing a blow to Erdogan, who had portrayed the vote as a matter of national security. Turkey has experienced political upheaval in recent years, including an attempted military coup, Islamic State attacks and conflict with Kurdish militants in the southeast.

On Tuesday, AKP officials, hauling suitcases they said contained evidence of electoral fraud, formally challenged the election results in Istanbul. Those officials alleged that widespread voting irregularities had tipped the balance in favor of the opposition. The election authority, known as the YSK, has about one week to rule on the appeal and could still upend the results, analysts say.

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Last year, Erdogan won the presidential election, a victory that appeared to cement his grip on power, and he campaigned relentlessly in the lead-up to last month’s elections for mayors, city council members and other local councils across the country.

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The president began his political career as mayor of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city and financial hub, in 1994, and has served either as prime minister or president of Turkey since 2002.

In Istanbul, a city of 16 million, Imamoglu beat out Erdogan ally and former prime minister Binali Yildirim by just 13,000 votes.

Yildirim said this week that it was “clear” that his votes had been stolen, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, and that it was the Supreme Election Council that would make the final decision on the results.

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But if the results are upheld, Imamoglu’s mandate will end the AKP’s decades-long dominance of the city.

“We’re the custodians of 16 million people. We will solve the problems of the city together,” Imamoglu said in a speech at the municipal government building Wednesday, when he officially started work.

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