Head of Turkey’s Supreme Election Board (YSK) Sadi Güven on Monday tried to ease concerns about the validity of some votes cast in a public referendum in Turkey on Sunday, saying that some shortcomings in the voting process should not deprive people of their right to vote.
Turkey held a public referendum on Sunday during which a constitutional reform package seeking to introduce an executive presidency in Turkey was approved by 51.3 percent of the voters.
During the voting, some citizens cast their votes in unsealed ballots while some citizens used envelopes and ballots they brought with them, which prompted some opposition parties and naysayers to raise suspicions about the votes’ validity.
In a statement on Monday morning, Güven said the ballot papers and envelopes brought by some citizens from outside were produced by the YSK and they are authentic.
“Citizens used the valid ballot papers given to them to cast valid votes. But the polling clerks, despite the training we offered to them and text messages we sent to them that morning, failed to seal the ballots either because of negligence or deliberately,” said Güven, adding that this development should not deprive people of their constitutional right to vote.