Villagers vote on road in Turkey’s northwestern district

ESKİŞEHİR

Citizens of a village in Turkey’s northwestern Eskişehir province have been casting their votes on a local road, while the votes were counted by tractor light, as the village headman did not have an office, daily Hürriyet has reported. 

Voters in the Sarıkavak village of Eskişehir’s Alpu district have been casting their votes inside a makeshift cabin on an unpaved road for many years now, locals said. 

Sarıkavak village headman Haydar Nadi Gölbek stated the problem existed because there wasn’t a headman’s office where a ballot box could be placed. 

Gölbek explained the authorities did not answer the villagers’ appeals for a more appropriate ballot station. 

“We count votes utilizing the lights of our tractors. It is very cold in the mornings. We asked the state and the authorities for their help but they did not pay attention,” he said. 

“We place stones on top of envelopes to prevent them from flying away with the wind,” Gölbek added.
Sarıkavak village currently has 45 households and 101 registered voters.