Uber issue is over for Turkish government: Erdoğan

ANKARA- Anadolu Agency

The Uber is a closed debate for Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on May 24.

Speaking after an iftar, fast-breaking dinner, in Istanbul, Erdoğan said: "The Uber issue is over for us as the government of Turkish Republic."

He said Uber is not different from unlicensed taxi driving and it is entrenching upon the taxi drivers.

The ride-sharing company left Turkey after Erdogan rejected to give an appointment to the head of Uber, he said.

Also touching on the March 31 local polls in Turkey, Erdoğan said 754 presiding officers in Istanbul were appointed unlawfully, referring to the reason of Supreme Election Council (YSK) to rule a do-over election in Istanbul.

The results of the March Istanbul vote were canceled after the ruling AKP and its coalition partner Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) appealed, citing irregularities and contradictions with the country's election law.

They cannot overlook the votes of people who voted at those ballot boxes, Erdoğan said.

The YSK on May 22 revealed the detailed ruling for the Istanbul revote to be held on June 23.

A total of 30,281 votes in 108 ballot boxes were declared invalid due to a lack of or unsigned counting sheets, the YSK said.

Also, polling clerks who were not civil servants served in 754 polling centers in the March 31 mayoral elections in Istanbul.