Thousands of protesters gathered outside Turkey's Supreme Electoral Council, demanding a recount in some of Sunday's local elections.

Chanting "thief Tayyip", they came out on the streets of Ankara.

Until riot police fired water cannon to disperse them.

The governing AK party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan increased its share of the vote despite months of protests and allegations of government corruption.

No official results have been announced but the tally published by Turkish media puts the AK party with about 44 per cent of the vote nationwide.

Erdogan denies recent corruption allegations and on Sunday claimed victory in a speech to thousands of supporters.