The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has lodged a criminal complaint after shredded identity cards were found in a rubbish bin near a school used as a polling station in İstanbul’s Pendik district.
The incident added to the increasing allegations of wide-spread irregularities during the 14 May elections.
The discovery of the ID cards near a school prompted the police to cordon off the area. The CHP’s Pendik deputy district chair Erkan Narsap and Pendik Councillor Salih Ceylan have raised concerns that the identity cards may have been used for voter fraud. The police have drafted an official report, and the matter will be forwarded to the prosecution for further investigation.
In an update regarding the incident, the Disinformation Combat Centre attached to the Presidential Directorate of Communications stated that an examination by the police had revealed that a nearby pharmacist had cut up and destroyed ID cards left by some citizens at the pharmacy, throwing them in the garbage. The Centre claimed that images of the shredded ID cards bore “no relation to the election” and alleged that these images were being manipulated by being associated them the election. However, the statement did not provide any information on whether the ID cards discovered had been compared with the voter lists of the nearby polling stations, leaving uncertainty regarding the possibility of their actual use.