IHD: Preliminary report on violations on elections day

The IHD headquarters published a preliminary election report and pointed out that the AKP has resorted to many violations in Kurdistan and Turkey during the local elections.

The Human Rights Association (IHD) has published a preliminary report detailing the violations as witnessed by observers.

Although the Supreme Election Board had ruled that there could be no electoral propaganda on election day and from 6 pm on Saturday, many violations have been reported especially by the AKP.

The report also said: “The IHD observers have been prevented by law enforcement in many places and have been told that they will not be able to carry out their duty.”

The report also confirmed that 22 recognised observers from the Council of Europe Local and Regional Congress were given permission to monitor the election process, yet, “many foreign journalists, independent observers, NGO representatives, deputies etc were prevented from follow the elections. Indeed the Morning Star editor, Steve Sweeney was detained at the airport when he landed and expelled from the country.”

The report denounced among others the following violations:

• Physical barriers preventing or making it difficult for disabled people in wheelchairs to vote have continued.
• As announced by the Ministry of Interior 310 events have been experienced across Turkey. The most serious of these events occurred in Malatya, Pütürge where two people lost their life as a result of an AKP candidate’s relative attacking people discussing over the election.
• In Diyarbakır, İstanbul, Adana, Urfa, Antep and Mardin, 67 people were wounded in discussion turned violent.
• It has been observed that there were excessive security measures in the vicinity of the schools where the voters are mostly Kurds.
• 2 people were injured in a skirmish between the relatives of the mukhtar candidates at the Nihat Işık Primary School in Istanbul Kadıköy.
• In Diyarbakir Kayapinar, 2 people were injured in skirmish between two mukhtar.
• Village guards in Kayahan district of Kulp district of Diyarbakır have beaten up lawyers Eyüp Aydeniz, Fırat Akdeniz, Suat Öztürk and Mehmet Emin Ay sent by the HDP.
• 142 complaints have been filed against people voting without a certificate.