Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party has lost a bid to force a recount of last Sunday's local elections in the capital, Ankara.
The Ankara Electoral Board on Friday rejected the opposition's appeal for a recount.
No official results have been announced from the local elections. But informal tallies show the Justice and Development Party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won about 45 percent of the vote, compared with about 25 percent for the Republican People's Party.
Erdogan's party also maintained control of Turkey's two largest cities, Ankara and Istanbul.
There have been widespread allegations of irregularities in the elections, which were seen as a referendum on Erdogan's rule.
The prime minister is battling charges of corruption and has been criticized for recently blocking public access to the social media network Twitter and the video-sharing website YouTube.
Turkey's government lifted its ban on Twitter on Thursday, but YouTube remains blocked.
The Ankara Electoral Board on Friday rejected the opposition's appeal for a recount.
No official results have been announced from the local elections. But informal tallies show the Justice and Development Party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won about 45 percent of the vote, compared with about 25 percent for the Republican People's Party.
Erdogan's party also maintained control of Turkey's two largest cities, Ankara and Istanbul.
There have been widespread allegations of irregularities in the elections, which were seen as a referendum on Erdogan's rule.
The prime minister is battling charges of corruption and has been criticized for recently blocking public access to the social media network Twitter and the video-sharing website YouTube.
Turkey's government lifted its ban on Twitter on Thursday, but YouTube remains blocked.
