After resigning from the main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP), Kırklareli's independent candidate Mehmet Siyam Kesimoğlu looks to have been re-elected in the March 31 local elections, leaving his former party behind in the municipal race.
Speaking in a press briefing, Kesimoğlu said he won the election with a difference of 174 votes according to unofficial results.
"Democracy, justice, rule of law has won," he added.
Still, since there is a very small difference between the number of votes Kesimoğlu and his rival from the CHP received, controversy continues in the region regarding who is the ultimate winner.
Commenting on the possible objections to the election results, Kesimoğlu underlined that it's everyone's right to challenge the results, but even after the re-evaluation of the votes, the results are unlikely to change.
During the process of determining municipal candidates, a number of candidates who were turned down by the CHP announced that they would run under the banners of other parties due to incumbent party Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's insistence on nominating figures closer to their line at the expense of popular and experienced candidates with independent stances or ties to the intraparty opposition.
Even CHP's Istanbul Deputy Gürsel Tekin, who has been in Kılıçdaroğlu's corner for a decade, questioned the CHP leadership's motives. Tekin stated that in the process of determining candidates, the party's principles were put aside while personal affiliations were put forward.