Turkey\\\'s opposition to contest Ankara local poll result

ANKARA, April 1 (AFP): Turkey's secular main opposition party said Tuesday it would contest a narrow poll win in Ankara mayoral elections claimed by the Islamic-rooted party of Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, citing "irregularities".

The Turkish capital was a key battleground and symbolic prize in Sunday's municipal elections, in which Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) scored sweeping victories nationwide despite a corruption scandal and recent street protests.

"We will appeal today at the Supreme Electoral Board over hundreds of ballot boxes in Ankara," lawmaker Aykan Erdemir of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), told AFP in Ankara, Turkey's second biggest city.

"More than 1,000 volunteers have been working for over 48 hours to check data at the party headquarters. We have evidence of irregularities."