Turkish election board head pledges election security

ANKARA

Supreme Election Board (YSK) Chairman Sadi Güven on April 30 sought to assure the security of ballot boxes ahead of Turkey’s upcoming snap election. 

Güven told reporters in capital Ankara that “all measures for election security” have been taken ahead of the early vote, due to take place on June 24.

“Elections are secured. There will be no duplicate or fake voters and there is no basis to claims that ‘fake election ballots’ will be used,” state-run Anadolu Agency quoted him as saying. 

“As these are nonexistent, it is wrong to start discussing election security before even conducting the elections,” Güven added, stressing that the “biggest responsibility regarding elections lies with political parties.

“They should send their representatives, members and observers to all ballot boxes across the country,” he said.

Parliament passed a bill on April 20 calling for early presidential and parliamentary elections, which will cement Turkey’s shift to an executive presidential system. The new system was narrowly approved by voters in a controversial referendum in April 2017, which was marked by allegations of vote irregularities.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on April 25 signed a harmonization law to bring Turkey’s election system into line with the reforms approved in the referendum.

The law also ends the appointment system for overseas voters, allowing them to cast ballots on any date following the YSK’s announcement of voting dates for overseas voters.

It also allows a candidate to be elected to no more than two terms as president and for a presidential runoff if no candidate receives more than half of the votes cast.