Turkish riot police used water cannon on Tuesday to disperse a crowd of people who had gathered in front of the headquarters of the Supreme Election Board in Ankara.

The protesters, according to Hürriyet Daily News, were supporters of the opposition Republican People’s Party, who claim there was widespread fraud by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the election Sunday.

A video that appears on the CNN Turk website, appears to show a largely peaceful crowd, as a police TOMA water cannon vehicle suddenly trains its powerful spray on them.

Police use water cannons as protesters denounce vote-rigging allegations in #Ankara http://t.co/68PLZAXivS pic.twitter.com/zd8j8gebTe

— Hurriyet Daily News (@HDNER) April 1, 2014

Another video, posted on YouTube, shows the scene from another angle. In this version, shown at the top of this story, the spray drenches the video camera.

The police action Tuesday marked the first crackdown on dissent since Sunday's vote that saw the ruling AK Party score victories in many municipal elections across the country. Suspicions of fraud and vote manipulation, however, arose Sunday night when a series of power blackouts darkened election offices in many cities, including the capital Ankara, just as votes were being counted.

However, on Monday, Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yıldız denied any wrongdoing, saying the Ankara blackout was caused by a cat that wandered into a power distribution unit and was electrocuted.

“I’m not joking, my friends," Yıldız said. "A cat entered a power distribution unit. It was the cause of the blackout [in Ankara] and it’s not the first time that it has happened. It is wrong to link it with the elections. It’s wrong to cry ‘foul play.’”

Meet the #catlobby, which sabotaged power lines on election day http://t.co/unvPHI52M5 #thisaintaprilfoolsjoke pic.twitter.com/z1qNwvtCCP

— Hurriyet Daily News (@HDNER) April 1, 2014