HDP blamed for election irregularities in southeast


Police detained a polling clerk and several other people across Turkey's southeastern provinces on Sunday for violating election rules. Following notices sent to the government's crisis management desks, police said they detained suspects who allegedly "tried to suppress the will of voters."Polls opened in Turkey's southeastern region at 7:00 a.m. and at 8.:0 a.m. elsewhere in the country. Officials from the crisis management desks were working to ensure that the elections were carried out peacefully and the people's will was accurately reflected in the polls.A poll clerk was removed by an election board in Batman for allegedly manipulating voters. Kerem Tekin, a polling officer in Yavuz Selim, was suspected of trying to sway voters at the polling station. A scuffle broke out between police and supporters of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) when the crowd ignored police warnings to leave the polling station. The group was allegedly pressuring other voters to support the HDP. Former Batman Mayor Sabri Ozdemir, who was recently dismissed from his office, arrived at the scene and made the group disperse. Police in Diyabakır also detained five people who were suspected of suppressing the will of the voters. Several citizens in Şırnak province's İsmet Paşa district were upset because HDP supporters were allowed to campaign close to a polling station.