Türkiye is gearing up for the May 14 elections for the presidency and parliamentary seats as the number of voters has increased. In the last presidential elections in 2018, the number of eligible voters was 56.3 million, but this year it stands at 60 million.
The election comes at a time of struggle for recovery following the Feb. 6 earthquakes that killed tens of thousands of people in the country’s southeast. Some 3 million people have left the provinces hit by what authorities call the “disaster of the century” and will likely cast their votes from the places they have relocated to. It is estimated about 1.5 million among them are eligible to vote.
Authorities mobilized to ensure access to voting for earthquake survivors. The Interior Ministry has sent text messages to survivors to remind them to update their address information by March 20 if they have relocated. Eligible voters can apply to local branches of the civil registration directorate, local election boards or use the e-government portal. Officials are also mulling extending the March 20 deadline and giving a more flexible option for voters registered previously in the disaster-hit zone for an easier address information update.
It will also be a landmark vote for the visually impaired, who, for the first time in the history of the Republic of Türkiye, will be able to vote alone. Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Wednesday that the Supreme Election Council (YSK) would provide special “templates” for visually impaired voters so they can cast their ballots without assistance. In past elections, they were assisted by their next of kin or any other voter present at the polling station at the time, raising concerns that they would be steered to vote for a party they did not support. Visually impaired voters will be provided with the same ballots as other voters along with templates, while it is still unclear if the said templates feature Braille or come with other specifications that will help them vote easily.
