Voter manipulation present in Turkish elections, but not widespread
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Numerous cases of alleged voter fraud have been recorded in Turkey, though they are not enough to constitute a systematic manipulation of the election, experts say.
As polls closed at 5 pm, a blackout on reporting on the results was imposed on the country until 9 pm. It has been lifted as of 6.30 pm – similar to previous elections. A lack of exit polls in Turkey means no conclusive results are likely to emerge until much later tonight.
Already, a variety of sources are crying foul. Several instances of voter intimidation, ballot manipulation, and dirty tactics have been recorded across the country. Most, if not all, in favor of the government.
As North Press reported this morning, blank ballots that appeared to be filled out in favor of Erdogan were found in the province of Giresum this morning. They have now reportedly been validated by the Supreme Election Board.
At least one family registered as Vatan party official has now been able to cast their ballot, Roj News reports.
Unconfirmed videos showing a single actor at a polling place in Harran, Salinurfa province, a predominantly Arab region of Turkey, filling out several ballots in favor of Erdogan has surfaced and been reported on by local media.
The Kurdish Roj News site has also reported on a variety of intimidation and obstruction tactics, including the presence of government-linked armed village guards members entering voting booths with voters in Bingol and gendarmes being present at a polling place in Diyarbakir; a mysterious fire at a polling place in Istanbul; and AKP supporters attacking election observers in Adana, Sanliurfa, and Adiyaman.
Discerning what impact, if any, these events will have is nearly impossible at the moment. However, experts say Turkish elections are very hard to ‘steal’ outright. According to one extensive explanation, posted by Oguz Arikboga, a political commentator, this is due to the existence of assigned ballot boxes for voters, strict ID regulations, the presence of multiple election observers across nearly all polling stations, and parallel tallying, among other things.
One of the most decisive impacts on this election may not be a disregard for electoral law, however, but a strict adherence to it. Reportedly, Mehrem Ince, a presidential candidate who had thrown in the towel days before the election, is still on the ballot. While Ince publically announced his resignation, it came too late for Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Board; it will be counting votes cast for him in the final tally. The vote count is now underway.