 candidates in the region.){kind=link}
Members of a pro-Kurdish party, locals and observers have claimed that a large number of law enforcement officers and soldiers who are not registered locally are voting illegally in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast in order to influence the elections in favor of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) candidates in the region.
Turkey is holding local elections today. Shortly after the start of voting, the issue of “transported voters” was brought up on social media, with a number of users and pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) officials posting videos that show long queues of non-local and presumed soldiers and police officers in front of voting stations in the country’s southeast.
Locals and DEM Party officials are seen in the videos reacting to the presumed soldiers and police officers and asking them why are they waiting to cast their vote there although they don’t live in that particular place.
Among the provinces where people made these allegations are Diyarbakır, Şırnak, Hakkari, Batman, Ağrı, Muş, Iğdır, Kars, Mardin, Şanlıurfa, Siirt and Tunceli.
AKP government is mobilizing soldiers and police officers to vote in order to secure victory in Kurdish cities where the DEM Party holds the majority. Videos show the orchestrated transfer of fake voters and local people's reactions to this deceitful scheme.#TurkeyElections2024 https://t.co/vvWShCI2AD
— DEM Party English (@DemPartyEnglish) March 31, 2024
Kamuran Tarhan, an MP from the DEM Party, shared videos on X showing the busses in which the police and soldiers were taken to Mardin’s Dargeçit district, calling on them not to usurp the will of the people in Dargeçit in favor of the AKP.
Mardin’in Dargeçit ilçesindeyiz. AKP’nin taşımalı seçmenle yaptığı hırsızlıkları teşhir ediyoruz! pic.twitter.com/iqxCbiTEYs
— Kamuran Tanhan (@kamurantanhan47) March 31, 2024
AKP’nin bitmek bilmeyen oy hırsızlıklarına bir yenisi daha eklendi.
Dargeçit Anadolu Lisesinde 1009 nolu sandıkta halkın iradesi kolluk kuvvetleri tarafından gasp ediliyor. pic.twitter.com/VzAWSe7aa8— Kamuran Tanhan (@kamurantanhan47) March 31, 2024
Journalist Deniz Babir also posted several videos showing police and soldiers getting out of busses and going to schools to cast their votes in eastern provinces, saying that this happened in the Halfeti district of Şanlıurfa; the Derik, Nusaybin and Savur districts of Mardin; the Kulp district of Diyarbakır; the Patnos district of Ağrı; the Eruh district of Siirt; the Cizre district of Şırnak; and the Yüksekova district of Hakkari.
“At the same time, these individuals [police and soldiers] are also registered in their respective provinces of residence. There is a major scam at play! There is fraud! There is theft!” the journalist said.
❗️SON DAKİKA❗️
Halfeti, Nusaybin, Savur, Kulp, Patnos, Derik, Eruh, Cizre, Yüksekova, gibi ilçelerde polis ve asker toplu oy kullandı. Aynı zamanda bu kişilerin nufusa kayıtlı oldukları illerde de kayıtları mevcut.
Ortada büyük bir hille var!
Gasp var!
Hırsız var!DEM Parti… pic.twitter.com/pwRIy3hg7t
— Deniz Babir (@Babir_D) March 31, 2024
“… As always the dirty face of the state shows itself clearest in Kurdistan: masses of soldiers not registered locally are voting illegally, influencing the outcome in AKP’s favor,” Dutch freelance journalist and author Frederike Geerdink said on X.
Local #elections in #turkey, and the main focus is on #Istanbul but as always the dirty face of the state shows itself clearest in #Kurdistan: masses of #soldiers not registered locally are voting illegally, influencing the outcome in #AKP's favour. #fraud https://t.co/ARdub2CpXp
— Frederike Geerdink (@fgeerdink) March 31, 2024
In another video, DEM Party Ağrı MP Sırrı Sakık is seen explaining to a group of presumed police and soldiers coming to vote that they don’t live in Ağrı and therefore have no right to cast ballots in the city.
According to Jin News, the DEM Party’s Ağrı candidate, Hazal Aras, visited some of the schools in the city to observe the elections. She criticized the soldiers and police officers who came to vote illegally, causing some of them to leave.
🗳️Agirî'de okulları ziyaret eden DEM Parti Agirî Belediyesi adayı Hazal Aras, okullara oy kullanmaya gelen asker ve polislere tepki gösterirken, bazı asker ve polisler okullardan kaçarak uzaklaştı#Jinnewshaber #YerelSeçim2024 https://t.co/gdKsgikJIR pic.twitter.com/P9RpDaVxoY
— Jin News (@jinnewsturkce) March 31, 2024
DEM Party Şırnak MP Zeki İrmez also criticized the people transported to the city, saying they came to Şırnak for the first time in their lives just to vote for the AKP.
İfşa ediyoruz‼️
Hayatında bir kez bile Şırnak'a gelmemiş seyyar seçmenleri görüyorsunuz!İktidar, Şırnak'a taşıdığı binlerce asker ve polisle seçim sonuçlarını değiştirmeye çalışıyor! pic.twitter.com/CozRSzPxkM
— Mehmet Zeki İrmez (@zekiirmez) March 31, 2024
Another video depicted DEM Party MP Gülistan Kılıç asking a soldier in line where he came from, to which the soldier responded, “We came from outside the province.”
Kars'ta sandık görevlisi: Şu ana kadar Karslı yurttaş oy kullanmadı
DEM Partili vekili Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit’in Kars’ta toplu olarak oy kullanılırken “Nereden geldiniz?” diye sorduğu asker, “İl dışından geldik” cevabını verdi
[📹:@MAturkce ]https://t.co/B9l9i2V0yk pic.twitter.com/f4ty0dYNSB
— sendika.org (@sendika_org) March 31, 2024
The Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP) also leveled allegations of election fraud in favor of the AKP in DEM Party strongholds by means of police and soldiers brought from outside the cities.
“We stand against this years-long trustee regime and coup attempts targeting the Kurdish people’s will! The people will prevail, and those attempting to usurp their will will lose!” the party said in a tweet.
DEM Parti’nin güçlü olduğu il ve ilçelerde şehir dışından gelen kolluk kuvvetlerine yasadışı ve organize biçimde oy kullandırıldığı görülmektedir.
Kürt halkının iradesine dönük yıllardır süren bu kayyum düzeninin ve darbe girişiminin karşısındayız! Halk kazanacak, onun iradesini…
— Türkiye İşçi Partisi (@tipgenelmerkez) March 31, 2024
DEM Party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan said at a news conference on Sunday that her party has so far discovered the transfer of 46,901 voters in 31 constituencies. “What can we call this but a coup?” Doğan said as she called on people to stand behind and protect their votes.
In the local elections of March 31, 2019, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the predecessor of the DEM Party, won 65 municipalities in Turkey’s eastern and southeastern regions. But due to the decisions of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) in six cases and the Interior Ministry, nearly 50 mayors have been removed from office or not allowed to assume office. The Turkish government has systematically appointed trustees to replace democratically elected mayors in the country’s Kurdish-majority regions.