Determined to see fair vote after quakes, Turks mobilise for May election
Published: 05:03 PM,Mar 28,2023 | EDITED : 09:03 PM,Mar 28,2023
ISTANBUL: Sensing the best chance yet to end President Tayyip Erdogan’s two-decade rule in Turkiye, his opponents are mobilising to make sure every ballot is counted in a May election and to guard against any tampering in what is expected to be a tight vote.
With the stakes so high, concerns about potential irregularities have been heightened by upheaval wrought by February’s devastating earthquakes in the southeast, where some 50,000 people were killed and millions made homeless.
Yigit, 26, a student from southern Turkiye, said he will watch the polling in his hometown of Antakya, to make sure nobody tries to cast ballots in the name of his parents, who died in the disaster.
“I will wait at the ballot box to make sure that no one else is voting in their place,” Yigit said.
An alliance of six opposition parties hoping to unseat the president is planning measures to safeguard a free and fair election, including recruiting professionals such as lawyers to monitor the voting, said Idris Sahin, deputy chair of DEVA Party.
DEVA officials are comparing voter lists from December 31 with the updated registry in the earthquake zone, he said, including checking whether those who moved away are registered in their new residences and whether those who died have been removed.
Observers should be able to prevent any attempts to cast votes in the names of people who died in the earthquake but who had yet to be removed from the records, Sahin added.
DISASTER ZONES
Opposition parties have alleged electoral irregularities in the past, including criticism of measures taken by the High Electoral Board (YSK) and Erdogan’s influence over the country’s newsrooms.
Non-governmental organi-sations say the exodus of more than 3 million people from the disaster zone poses extra concerns. The earthquake devastated 11 provinces that were home to 14 million people.
“We have a problem updating the electoral records correctly and ballot box security after such a disaster,” said Bekir Agirdir, a board member of pollster KONDA research.
“How many people are actually relocating? How many people will be properly registered on the voter lists?”
The YSK electoral board has said there are no obstacles to holding elections in the southeast, and has announced additional measures such as setting up ballot boxes for voters in temporary shelters and allowing those who moved away to easily change their registered address.
Erdogan was elected in 2018 as the first president under a new presidential system following a constitutional amendment, so the government says that previous terms in office do not count.
Constitutional lawyers are divided on whether or not he can run again.
The final list is to be published in the Official Gazette on
March 31. — Agencies
With the stakes so high, concerns about potential irregularities have been heightened by upheaval wrought by February’s devastating earthquakes in the southeast, where some 50,000 people were killed and millions made homeless.
Yigit, 26, a student from southern Turkiye, said he will watch the polling in his hometown of Antakya, to make sure nobody tries to cast ballots in the name of his parents, who died in the disaster.
“I will wait at the ballot box to make sure that no one else is voting in their place,” Yigit said.
An alliance of six opposition parties hoping to unseat the president is planning measures to safeguard a free and fair election, including recruiting professionals such as lawyers to monitor the voting, said Idris Sahin, deputy chair of DEVA Party.
DEVA officials are comparing voter lists from December 31 with the updated registry in the earthquake zone, he said, including checking whether those who moved away are registered in their new residences and whether those who died have been removed.
Observers should be able to prevent any attempts to cast votes in the names of people who died in the earthquake but who had yet to be removed from the records, Sahin added.
DISASTER ZONES
Opposition parties have alleged electoral irregularities in the past, including criticism of measures taken by the High Electoral Board (YSK) and Erdogan’s influence over the country’s newsrooms.
Non-governmental organi-sations say the exodus of more than 3 million people from the disaster zone poses extra concerns. The earthquake devastated 11 provinces that were home to 14 million people.
“We have a problem updating the electoral records correctly and ballot box security after such a disaster,” said Bekir Agirdir, a board member of pollster KONDA research.
“How many people are actually relocating? How many people will be properly registered on the voter lists?”
The YSK electoral board has said there are no obstacles to holding elections in the southeast, and has announced additional measures such as setting up ballot boxes for voters in temporary shelters and allowing those who moved away to easily change their registered address.
Erdogan was elected in 2018 as the first president under a new presidential system following a constitutional amendment, so the government says that previous terms in office do not count.
Constitutional lawyers are divided on whether or not he can run again.
The final list is to be published in the Official Gazette on
March 31. — Agencies