Polling committee head dismissed in Germany over multiple vote attempt

FRANKFURT, Germany - Anadolu Agency

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A polling committee head living in Frankfurt has been caught while attempting to vote in the name of somebody else in Turkey’s upcoming June 7 general election.

The president of the number six ballot box Hasan Tüfek, who is also a religious official in the city, cast his own vote on May 14 and took photos of himself while voting.

Two days after voting, Tüfek registered a national identity number belonging to somebody else on the election system and then tried to vote in their name. However, polling observers noticed this multiple vote attempt and prevented Tüfek from casting the vote. At first, he denied the allegations and then claimed he was trying to vote for his wife. He also said he voted “out of boredom.”

Upon objections, his statement was taken and Turkey’s Supreme Election Board (YSK) was informed of the incident. A report was later sent to the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The YSK issued a ruling about the dismissal of Tüfek along with another polling clerk who claimed that he did not see the incident, assigning a new polling committee.

Meanwhile, a lawyer for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), A. Hikmet Akıllı, said it was usual for religious officials to be assigned as polling clerks. He added that the party was monitoring the situation.

According to the law, those found guilty of voting or attempting to vote in the name of someone else are sentenced to jail terms of three to five years.

The voting process for Turkey’s parliamentary election began in Germany on May 8 and is scheduled to end on May 31.