2023-05-01 08:46:49
On that day, the “Türkiye Gönüllüleri” – literally “the volunteers of Turkey” – will have the task of photographing each report signed by each polling station, then uploading it to a computer program which records, in real time , the vote count.
“Our goal is not so much to publish results as to archive data that can be used immediately in the event of disputes”, explains Ayçe Yücel, one of the founders.
“Keeping all the results means reserving the right to say to the High Electoral Council: ‘One minute, we have to recount in such and such a place’. Obviously, each party will do the same with its own system. We will be there in support,” she continues.
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Lack of confidence
If this kind of initiative has emerged in Turkey in recent years, it is because the opponents do not have confidence in the results announced by the High Electoral Council.
“Of course it’s not pleasant to have to take such precautions, I admit that. But there are plenty of rumours… So the only way to have peace of mind is to mobilize as volunteers”, assures Ayçe Yücel.
Opposition initiative
The “Türkiye Gönüllüleri” initiative supports and is supported by the Alliance of the Nation – six opposition parties united behind Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main rival, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu. Last week, their doubts were stirred by a statement by Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu. The latter considered that “the West” was preparing to carry out a “political coup” in Turkey on May 14.
“Addressing the elections in such a climate of political tension poses in itself a problem for the security of the vote”, firmly criticizes Oğuz Kaan Salici, vice-president of the CHP, the main opposition party. “This mentality that equates voting with a coup poses a security problem. The fact that these comments come from the Minister of the Interior shows us the extent of the problem. We demand transparent elections and that the results announced be faithful to the ballots put in the ballot boxes.”
The citizens’ initiative of the “Volunteers of Turkey” currently claims more than 100,000 members and hopes to have twice as many on D-Day, to be represented in each polling station.
Subject web: Anne Andlauer
Adaptation web: juma
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