In his first public speech after local elections on Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said European and American officials “must know their limits,” the T24 news website reported.
“Turkey gave a lesson in democracy to the entire world,” Erdoğan told reporters after Friday prayer in İstanbul.
US State Department deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino on Tuesday called on the Turkish government to accept the results of the local elections in which Erdoğan’s party lost the country’s two largest cities, İstanbul and Ankara.
In response to Palladino, Erdoğan’s spokesperson Fahrettin Altun warned Washington about meddling in Turkey’s domestic affairs.
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on Thursday issued a statement calling on Turkey to ensure the impartiality, transparency and freedom of election board members during a recount of votes in several cities.
Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Ömer Çelik responded to the congress, saying that Turkey showed full support to the observers sent by them.
The Turkish opposition won metropolises including İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Antalya in Sunday’s vote, according to initial results.
The AKP objected to the results in İstanbul and Ankara, where the Supreme Election Board (YSK) ruled for a recount.