Turkey's electoral body has ordered that Istanbul's local elections be re-held after a shock opposition victory in March. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party questioned the slim win by the opposition CHP, claiming there were "irregularities and corruption".
CHP deputy chair Onursal Adiguzel said the rerun showed it was "illegal to win against the AK Party". The vote in Turkey's largest city will be held on 23 June.
An AKP representative on the electoral board, Recep Ozel, said the rerun was because some electoral officials were not civil servants and some result papers had not been signed. Mr Adiguzel tweeted that the decision was "plain dictatorship".
"This system that overrules the will of the people and disregards the law is neither democratic, nor legitimate," he wrote.
CHP candidate Ekrem Imamoglu was officially confirmed Istanbul's mayor by the authorities in April.
In a speech broadcast on social media, the mayor condemned the electoral board for ordering a rerun, saying they were influenced by the ruling party.
"We will never compromise on our principles," he told the crowd. "This country is filled with 82 million patriots who will fight... until the last moment for democracy."
A supporters' group for Mr Imamoglu urged restraint, saying: "Let's stand together, let's be calm... We will win, we will win again."
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