Opposition parties filing objections against alleged vote counting irregularities

Photo: AA

Opposition parties in Turkey have raised allegations of vote tampering and irregularities in the parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14.

The Green Left Party (Yeşiller ve Sol Gelecek Partisi) and the Republican People's Party (CHP) have expressed their concerns and provided detailed accounts of the discrepancies observed during the vote counting process.

The Green Left issued a statement using the hashtag #YeşilSolPartininOylarıNerede (Where are the Green Left votes?), initiated by their supporters on social media. They claimed that their votes had been wrongly attributed to other parties, primarily the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), whose voting rate in the country's predominantly Kurdish-populated regions were significantly higher than expected.

The party stated, "In hundreds of ballot boxes, our votes were assigned to other parties by the Supreme Electoral Council. Our colleagues have raised objections to all the irregularities we identified. The YSK, which boasts about the integrity of the elections, must rectify this fraud immediately!"

Alleged discrepancies in thousands of ballot boxes

Muharrem Erkek, the deputy chairperson of the CHP, shed light on the functioning of their internal system and the discrepancies identified. Explaining the functioning of their internal system, Erkek emphasized the meticulous verification process undertaken by the party to ensure the accuracy of the results.

He revealed that out of a total of 201,807 ballot boxes nationwide, discrepancies were detected in 2,269 ballot boxes related to the presidential election and 4,825 ballot boxes related to parliamentary elections, primarily affecting the CHP and its ally Good (İYİ) Party.

Erkek said, "If there is any discrepancy between our protocol and the YSK's system regarding the same ballot box, our system raises a red flag. This is visible at the central, provincial, and district levels. We have a robust infrastructure and system in place because the voter's will is above everything else for us. We track every single vote."

Regarding the alleged discrepancies, Erkek stated, "We detected variations in 2,269 ballot box protocols for the presidential election and 4,825 protocols for the parliamentary election, which could favor or go against any of the four candidates. We also identify discrepancies specifically against our candidate. All objections were submitted by Monday, 5:00 PM, as per the deadline."

Objections

The Green Left Party, in Aydın, filed a complaint with the Provincial Election Board, objecting to the invalidation of 16,060 presidential votes and 20,253 parliamentary votes. They demanded a recount of valid and invalid votes in certain districts such as Koçarlı, İncirliova, and Köşk, where they had significant support.

İrfan Değirmenci, the İzmir parliamentary candidate for the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP), announced on social media, "We have filed objections in 500 ballot boxes in Izmir, directly challenging the results. We await a response, and we will keep you informed."

The allegations of vote tampering and irregularities raised by the opposition parties have generated significant attention and concern. As the election authorities review these claims, the upcoming days leading to the decisive runoff on May 28 will be crucial in determining the integrity and transparency of Turkey's electoral process. (VK)