Turkish President Erdogan says his party may have lost Istanbul mayorship

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that his AK Party appeared to have lost Sunday's mayoral elections in Istanbul, but added that they remained "the number one party" in Turkey.

Erdogan also said his party would appeal results wherever needed, and added that he would take the necessary measures at ministries and institutions to make the system of governance more dynamic. He said there would not be other elections for four and a half years.

AKP candidate and fomer prime minister Binali Yildirim had declared victory in Istanbul earlier, in a move his opposition rival called "manipulation."

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Turkey's main opposition party said it won control of Ankara in local elections, defeating President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party in the capital for the first time, and challenged his party's claim to have held Istanbul by the narrowest margin.

Defeat for Erdogan's party in Ankara would be a significant setback for the president, who campaigned relentlessly for two months ahead of a vote he described as a "matter of survival" for Turkey. Losing Istanbul, Turkey's largest city and a platform for his own political career, would be a greater blow.