The use of force to threaten people and influence their democratic choices has been known as a phenomenon in many parts of the underdeveloped world, but "mafia-style democracy" is also present in developed countries, as it can be seen in the alleged PKK threats in Turkey's southeastern provinces, and Italy's Plati, in the southern region of Calabria.Italy will be going to the polls this weekend for the local and regional elections, and Turkish voters will go to ballot boxes for the upcoming general parliamentary elections on June 7.Turkey's nearly 56 million voters will go to ballot boxes with less than 10 days left for the critical upcoming general parliamentary elections, in which the HDP is looking to pass the 10 percent election threshold to enter Parliament as a party.Despite the increased safety measures by the Interior Ministry to ensure security of the voters, the ballot boxes and counting process, Turkey's southeastern provinces have raised their concerns, as the outlawed PKK reportedly attempt to influence their votes, threatening them to vote for the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), as it looks to pass the 10 percent election threshold to enter the Parliament as a party.The PKK utilizes a "political style," which instills fear and uses force, including kidnapping people, attacking ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) members, and threatening people in the Kurdish dominated regions in Turkey's southeastern provinces, to influence voters to choose the HDP.Similarly, Ndrangheta mafia, who control a large stake in Europe's cocaine trade, affects the voting process in Italy's Plati, AFP has reported.In Plati, a small town of 3,500, which is a strong base for the notorious organized crime syndicate, people have been afraid to put themselves forward for office, despite the worn-out condition of the town which could urgently use a face-lift, reports say.The town's previous mayor, Domenico Dimaio, was assassinated in a mob conflict in 1985, and now an appointed person-in-charge runs the operations. In addition to lack of administration, the country's economic situation has also further deepened the crisis in the town, as lack of jobs and a democratic administration has been a block to development.The regional coordinator of anti-mafia organization Libera, Domenico Nasone, says he is not surprised that people will not be participating on the weekend saying, "Potential candidates say, 'Why should I risk my life, why would I try to be a hero?' The majority of people here are honest but, in Calabria, being honest is not enough."The Kurdish voter's destiny shows many similarities to those in Plati when the bigger picture is analyzed. The attempts to develop the region by the ruling government, has been facing continuous attempts to stop projects by the PKK, including armed attacks on the construction sites, kidnapping workers and engineers, and burning construction vehicles. Most recently, the government opened Turkey's 55th airport in the southeastern province of Hakkari, "with two years delay and 99 attacks on the site," as the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, during the inauguration ceremony on May 29.The attacks on the airport is one example among many, which pushes back the government's attempts to revitalize the region, which has lacked development for many decades due to state policies and ongoing conflict between Turkish Armed Forces and PKK militants.The HDP, which claims to be representing the Kurdish citizens, although rhetorically speaks of democracy, lacks an understanding of the very nature of democracy, the right to choose freely. In one of the HDP's election advertisements, the party has shown blood flowing from a tap on billboards carrying messages such as "Take measures," "Aren't you afraid?" casting a shadow over the means of democracy.