ISTANBUL, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Ekrem Imamoglu, the newly elected mayor of Turkey's biggest city Istanbul, said Monday night that it is now time to raise voices against "all kinds of injustices" in the country within the framework of democratic principles, as the Supreme Election Council (YSK) ruled for fresh mayoral election in the economic hub.
"I ask everyone, including workers, artists, civil servants and business people to raise their voices against violations of rights," Imamoglu told a crowd in the Beylikduzu district of Istanbul hours after the YSK decided to annual the result of the March 31 local election and re-run it in the city upon the objections of the ruling party over what it calls "irregularities" during the votes.
The crowd interrupted Imamoglu's speech, demanding the YSK members to resign.
The YSK decided to reorganize the election on June 23 and canceled the mandate of Imamoglu, who was certified as the mayor of Istanbul on April 17, the board said in a written statement.
For his part, Binali Yildirim, the candidate for the ruling Justice and Development Party, urged people to go to polls again, saying Turkey is a state of law and "the YSK is the boss."
Meanwhile, residents banged pots and pans and blew whistles across the city to show their displeasure, while others took to the streets in the Kadikoy and Besiktas districts to protest against the YSK verdict.
Imamoglu, the candidate for the main opposition Republican People's Party, won a narrow victory against Yildirim in the previous election, marking the first time for the ruling party to lose control of the city in 25 years.
