Opposition ballots found in trash bags in southern Turkey

OSMANİYE – Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

Used ballots, marked for the main opposition Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), have been found in the garbage of six schools used as polling stations in the southern province of Osmaniye.

City residents reported the incident to the police when they found the used ballots in the trash in Osmaniye’s Düziçi district. According to reports, the schools where the ballots were found are the Uzunbanı Elementary School, Atatürk High School, Atatürk Elementary School, Cumhuriyet High School, Cumhuriyet Elementary School and ÇEAŞ Anatolian High School.

It was claimed that the ballots were planned to be burned.

Candidates from the CHP and MHP have filed an official complaint to the Public Prosecutors’ Office and have appealed to the Supreme Election Council (YSK).

The Düziçi Police Department has launched an investigation into the incident.

The ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) candidate Ökkeş Namlı won in the Düziçi district with 10,294 votes. The CHP’s Alper Öner received 9,854 votes, while the MHP’s Muhammet Kaya received 5,179 votes.