Turkey's Supreme Election Board (YSK) published yesterday a list of election-day prohibitions for March 31 local polls.
Published in the Official Gazette, the list includes a prohibition on the sales of alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m., while consumption of alcoholic beverages would be prohibited in public places.
News media organizations will not be allowed to broadcast any political advertising, predictions or comments about the elections until 6 p.m. Between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. media outlets will only be able to publish official announcements about the elections issued by the YSK.
In addition, all coffee shops, internet cafes and public entertainment places will remain closed, but restaurants will be allowed to serve food during the voting.
Last month, the YSK announced the local election schedule and asked the parties to announce candidates between Jan.1 and Feb. 21.
According to the schedule, on Sunday, March 31, 2019, Turkey will go to the polls. The final lists of candidates will be announced on March 3.On March 21, election advertising and bans will begin. The period for election advertising will end one day before the election at 6 p.m. Candidates from different parties will compete in some 1,398 municipalities, 921 districts and 396 towns across 81 provinces.
