ok and joining us now from istanbul is dorian jones hi dorian so according to state media more than eighty percent off ballot boxes were opened but there is a controversy going on over the way the votes are counted. absolutely here in this poll the chief rival to the ruling a k p. went on television and said that he's challenging the way the votes are being counted he said there is a disparity between the from ation they are receiving and also the information they are getting from the turkish electoral bald and what is being paul calls on the televisions now their information is coming from a news agency that is a state run agency questions over its impartiality have been raised in the past and again now the opposition are challenging the way the votes of the currently it is very close and here in istanbul with the a k p only about two percent ahead with ninety percent of the vote counted now following that controversy the from the challenge from the opposition party the the electoral board has now caught all the results services to the opposition parties this is provoked and representativ

and joining us now live from istanbul is dorian jones during the polls are closed now do we know anything about initial results no we don't and that's because there is an official media ban on the results until nine pm local time so we will have to wait and see on the are there any indications about the elections being free and fair. well i mean turkey has in turkey have been wrought with allegations of vote rigging in the last few years from the opposition and in fact the last local elections in there was major scenes of major allegations of vote rigging and vote fair there was reports of ballot card of men breaking in and stealing fowl of boxes and that was a very closely for campaign campaign and that really set the ground for opposition concerns over these future elections but this election for now at least there hasn't been any real reports of major irregularities although we are now in the critical phase of counting of the vote and that is where the opposition have voiced for concerns in the past of irregularities the ruling a.k.p. government of the night is we are in for a tense fe

of its politicians have been arrested in recent days joining us now live from istanbul is the dorian jones dorian the polls are closed now can you give us any initial results. well we do seem to be heading for a very exciting night the capital ankara is neck and neck nuffin between the main opposition main opposition c.h.p. and the ruling a k p with half the votes counted in istanbul the ruling a.k.p. only have a two point lead with still over half the votes to be counted so very very close in other major cities across the country the main opposition could be set for some important victories although the much predicted major collapse in support of the doesn't seem to be happening in fact their vote does seem to be holding up well in several key areas also they do seem to be set for a major success in turkey's predominately kurdish southeast heading for a very important victory in one province where they've achieved a massive thirty percent swing this will be a major setback for turkey's kurdish h.t.t.p. which do seem to be experiencing several major losses in the feats. and we also hear th

and joining us now from istanbul is state of news dorian jones it looks like it is a very close race in istanbul dorian what more can you tell us. well it really couldn't be close to wafer thin margin between a candidate been nearly killed him and the main opposition c.h.p. challenger. and. even after a million votes have been counted we're talking about how falls of votes now that separate the two candidates. try to claim victory. oath. with a very short speech and he was the victor that was immediately dismissed by him all who was also speaking on television at the same time saying it was a shame to given the margin of between them was so little and votes were still being counted and this count is mired in controversy challenging he has no faith in the way the votes are being counted he's saying it does not have relations to what the figures that they have from their activists on the ground at these voting stations so there isn't the be a lot of controversy that's possibly could go on for days given the fact that he really is the by far the most important city in this country and ma

people expect that he could be forced to go to the polls early the next four half years right dorian jones in istanbul on that election in turkey thank you and. now to some of the other stories making news around the world algeria is a battle president abdelaziz has named a caretaker government headed by the country's current prime minister has faced weeks of protests demanding an end to his twenty year role. is keeping his post as defense minister despite repeatedly calling for to step down. one of russia's richest women that's had a has died along with two of his when this small plane crash near the german city of frank was the private russian and seven it's not yet know what caused the accident. in ukraine the first round of presidential elections it's of polls show a clear lead for comedian. with just over thirty percent of the vote now incumbent president petro poroshenko the country since twenty fourteen trails significantly behind since he is a political novice but after today's results the funnyman says he's serious about winning in the runoff three weeks from now. the comedian can

and joining us now live from istanbul is dorian jones story and tell us how are these tests how are these elections rather a test for president are to one. person or one has made a referendum on his rule and the reason why he's done that is that he realizes that these towns and cities across turkey all the last center of power outside of his direct control and it's aware that his vice like grip control of his party over key cities like the capital long and he found both is under threat and that's because of this deepening economic recession and for the food prices now running at over thirty percent and that really is now putting the control of the cities at stake and also is the way that this whole political why the kentucky he who controls this town both controls turkey and iran will be aware that the opposition will be making similar calculations and they will be looking for any victories in the congress and especially in istanbul as a springboard to a launching an assault on his power going forward if we can turn to the mechanics of the vote are there any indications as to whether it's

joining us now from istanbul is the dorian jones can you help us understand a little better just how are these elections a test for president aired on. well he's made it a referendum on about his rule in fact he said the whole country's future is at stake in one of his last rally theer in istanbul and why it's attached you so much importance to these elections is because the control of the towns and cities across turkey is one of the last areas of power that the president directly doesn't control on top of that the president is aware that his party's vice like grip control of the capital ankara and istanbul is now facing a major challenge from the opposition and the reason why is that the country is feeling incredible economic pain soaring food prices running at over thirty percent is fueling public anger on the streets vere among one and his ruling party is that they could be punished by the voters particularly in key cities like istanbul and ankara and there is all political at each in turkey he who controls istanbul controls turkey and erdogan is aware of that because that is wher