Turkey is holding local elections today. Shortly after the start of voting, the issue of “transported voters” was brought up on social media, with a number of users and pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) officials posting videos that show long queues of non-local and presumed soldiers and police officers in front of voting stations in the country’s southeast.
Locals and DEM Party officials are seen in the videos reacting to the presumed soldiers and police officers and asking them why are they waiting to cast their vote there although they don’t live in that particular place.
Among the provinces where people made these allegations are Diyarbakır, Şırnak, Hakkari, Batman, Ağrı, Muş, Iğdır, Kars, Mardin, Şanlıurfa, Siirt and Tunceli.
İşte Siirt'e getirilen hırsızlar!
Yüzlerini kapatıyor hepsi, çünkü suçlular, suçüstü yakalandılar. Bu halkın iradesini çalmaya gelen hırsızları tek tek teşhir ediyoruz. Size rağmen kazanacağız. Halkımız gelip oylarını kullansın bu hırsızlara geçit vermesin. pic.twitter.com/yaver7dE7Q— Sabahat Erdoğan Sarıtaş (@erdogansabahats) March 31, 2024
Kamuran Tarhan, an MP from the DEM Party, shared videos on X showing the busses in which the police and soldiers were taken to Mardin’s Dargeçit district, calling on them not to usurp the will of the people in Dargeçit in favor of the AKP.
Journalist Deniz Babir also posted several videos showing police and soldiers getting out of busses and going to schools to cast their votes in eastern provinces, saying that this happened in the Halfeti district of Şanlıurfa; the Derik, Nusaybin and Savur districts of Mardin; the Kulp district of Diyarbakır; the Patnos district of Ağrı; the Eruh district of Siirt; the Cizre district of Şırnak; and the Yüksekova district of Hakkari.
“At the same time, these individuals [police and soldiers] are also registered in their respective provinces of residence. There is a major scam at play! There is fraud! There is theft!” the journalist said.
Ne yaparsanız yapın demokrasi mücadelesini bizler kazanacağız . pic.twitter.com/DNqk4XGDzb
— DEM PARTİ MÊRDÎN (@MerdinDem) March 31, 2024