Presidential election: Türkiye has voted – attacks on election workers

According to reports, there were attacks on election workers during the presidential elections in Turkey. Several politicians from the opposition CHP reported physical attacks against themselves and election workers.

CHP politician Ali Seker said he and opposition election officials were targeted by a group in Sanliurfa province after they complained about irregularities. There were also reports of attacks from Istanbul, Mardin and Diyarbakir.

For his part, the head of the electoral authority said after the polling stations had closed that there had been no “negative developments” so far.

Incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan and opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu competed in the hard-fought runoff election for the presidency. According to polls, Erdogan was the favorite. Around 61 million people were called to vote in Turkey. Eligible voters in Germany had already voted beforehand.

Preliminary results expected in the evening

The polling stations closed at 4:00 p.m. CEST. Preliminary results were already expected in the evening. The head of the electoral authority, Ahmet Yener, said in the morning that he expected the votes to be counted much faster than in the election two weeks ago. The electoral authorities only announced the preliminary final results of the May 14 vote the following day.

The choice is indicative. Erdogan has been in power for 20 years. Since the introduction of a presidential system in 2018, he has more power than ever before. Critics fear that the country, with a population of around 85 million, could slide completely into autocracy if he wins again. Kilicdaroglu represents an alliance of six parties from different camps and promises to democratize the country. The vote in the NATO country is being closely observed not only in the region but also internationally.

Presidential candidate and runner-up in the first round, Kilicdaroglu, once again campaigned for change in the morning. “I invite all citizens to go to the polls to end oppression and authoritarianism and bring real freedom and democracy to this country.”

Kilicdaroglu is hoping for non-voter votes

Kilicdaroglu hoped for the votes of the non-voters in the first round. He was 2.5 million votes behind Erdogan. He also called on his supporters to protect the ballot box, “because this election is taking place under very difficult conditions.” The opposition had been defamed, for example.

There were also reports of irregularities from Istanbul. The CHP lodged an objection to voter lists that were said to be easily manipulated. Halk TV reported that opposition poll workers were attacked in Gaziosmanpasa and Ümraniye districts. The online medium senika.org wrote that lawyers were not allowed into the polling stations at a school in Bagcilar district. There were arguments. The information could not be independently verified.

The Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu had already declared before the second round of voting that he wanted to prevent election observers from the Oy ve Ötesi organization from being represented at the ballot box. The statement caused concern, especially among the opposition.

Erdogan said when he voted in Istanbul that it was the first run-off election in Turkey’s history. He praised the high turnout in the first round on May 14 and said he expected another high turnout.

The first round of voting was considered unfair. International election observers criticized the government’s media dominance and the lack of transparency in voting. The electoral authority YSK is also considered politicized.

Anniversary of Gezi protests

The vote fell on a symbolic date for the opposition. Today is also the tenth anniversary of the anti-government Gezi protests. The demonstrations in spring 2013 were initially directed against the development of Istanbul’s central Gezi Park. They expanded into nationwide demonstrations against the increasingly authoritarian policies of Erdogan, who was still prime minister at the time. This brutally suppressed the largely peaceful protests.

The dominant topic before the second round was migration. Both Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu secured the support of right-wing politicians. Kilicdaroglu in particular made the repatriation of refugees to Syria his main campaign issue and clearly sharpened his tone compared to the first round.

Turkey is home to around 3.4 million refugees from Syria alone. For Europe, it plays a major role in migration policy. Another topic in the election campaign was the poor economic situation with high inflation. Erdogan repeatedly insulted the opposition as “terrorists”. The incumbent also announced that he would take more action against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the event of re-election.

In parliament, Erdogan’s government alliance was able to secure an absolute majority again in the elections two weeks ago. Official results are still not available two weeks later due to the processing of numerous objections.