🔴 Turkey's pro-#Kurdish opposition party call out ruling party for engineering a 'mobile voter base' ahead of local #elections:
– A single address in Siirt (Sêrt) now lists 2,099 voters
– A single family home in Iğdır (Îdir) now has 1,445 voters
– In Hakkari (Colemêrg) 1,296… pic.twitter.com/dmkbX49ig2— MedyaNews (@1MedyaNews) December 21, 2023
Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is accused of manipulating voter registrations for the upcoming March 2024 local elections in key districts in Kurdish-majority regions. Mehmet Rüştü Tiryaki, Deputy Co-chair for Municipalities of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy and Equality Party (DEM Party), has unveiled evidence suggesting a systematic attempt by the AKP to influence the outcome of the local elections.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Tiryaki highlighted the severity of the situation, warning, “We are essentially looking at a mobile voter base.” He pointed out the suspicious registration of thousands of young male voters, particularly security personnel like police officers and soldiers, in areas where the DEM Party and its forerunners have historically held sway.
“In local elections, who wins the mayorship in small places, districts, and towns can be determined by small differences in votes,” Tiryaki noted, underscoring the potential impact of the alleged manipulations.
One of the most glaring examples is in the southeastern province of Siirt (Sêrt), where an address that previously had a mere 10 voters now lists 2,099. This represents a staggering increase, as Tiryaki remarked, “At this address, there were 10 voters registered in the May 2023 elections. Now, how much has it increased? By 20,890 percent.”
Similarly alarming scenarios have unfolded in Iğdır (Îdir) and Hakkari’s (Colemerg) Şemdinli and Yüksekova districts. In Iğdır, a single family home that previously registered only five voters now has 1,445. In Şemdinli, 1,296 men have been registered at one address, and 892 voters have been apparently relocated from outside Turkey.
Tiryaki’s statement also sheds light on strategic voter movements in Şırnak’s (Şirnex) Uludere district, where 917 voters are now registered at a single address, and 3,055 new voters have been reportedly relocated from abroad. In a local police guesthouse, the number of officers registered jumped from 14 to 492.
This pattern of alleged voter manipulation extends across several provinces, including Kars (Qers), Muş (Mûş), Batman (Êlih), Mardin (Merdin) and Diyarbakır (Amed). In many of these districts, historical election victories have been secured by narrow margins, sometimes as few as 43 votes.
Addressing the citizens, Tiryaki issued a stirring call to action: “The AKP is trying to usurp your will via fraud and cheating. Please do not let them.” He emphasised the importance of resisting such tactics and maintaining the sanctity of the democratic process. This situation marks a critical juncture in Turkish politics, casting a shadow over the integrity of the upcoming local elections and challenging the very principles of democratic representation.
