Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has come under mounting criticism for allegedly manipulating voter demographics ahead of the country’s 2024 local elections. Abdullah Güngen, co-chair of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) in Şırnak (Şirnex), claimed that the government coerced members of the local security forces to strategically swap official residential addresses to urban centres of Kurdish-majority regions.
This tactic isn’t new; in the 2019 elections an influx of security force personnel into Şırnak led to a significant shift in electoral outcomes, notably in favour of the AKP. “The government is resorting to unlawful means to gain control over regional municipalities, ” Güngen warned.
In other Kurdish-majority areas, such as Diyarbakır’s (Amed) Eğil (Gêl) district, there has been a suspicious surge in the number of registered voters. The voter count in Eğil’s Yenişehir district, for instance, has more than doubled. HDP-affiliated legal expert, Mehmet Zülküf Polat, described this as “a blatant undermining of the people’s will”.
There appears to be limited avenues for challenging the situation. “Despite filing official complaints, there has been no action,” reported Cizre (Cizîr) Municipality former Co-chair Berivan Kutlu, who had lost her position to an AKP-appointed trustee.
Local politicians urged the public to be vigilant. “People should use their vote where they reside. No one should play with the fate of a village, a district, or a country by moving votes. It’s not ethical,” Güngen added.