Turkey's ruling AKP candidate claims victory in tight Istanbul vote

[ISTANBUL] Turkey's ruling party candidate for Istanbul mayor claimed victory in a race that near total results in Sunday's election showed was a dead heat.

"We have won the election in Istanbul. We thank Istanbul's residents for the mandate they have given us," Binali Yildirim, a former premier and loyalist of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told supporters.

The AKP candidate had 48.71 per cent of votes against 48.65 for his opponent Ekrem Imamoglu, with 98 per cent of ballot boxes counted.

AFP