Turkish citizens are going to the polls to decide whether to replace the current parliamentary system with an executive system that will provide vastly enhanced powers for the president. Here are some headlines from different cities and districts around Turkey

In İstanbul, voting started at 8.00, with 9,387,327 citizens eligible to vote at 32,145 polling stations. Many complained that pro-government campaign banners remained present throughout the city despite election prohibitions. There were also reports of some attempts of electoral fraud, including the seizure of ballots.

There were more accusations of electoral fraud in Ankara, amid allegations that there were extra ballots, unsealed voting envelopes, voting in more than one ballot box, pressure against voters, as well as campaign material and songs for the “yes” side outside polling stations. In some districts, police officers also forced out referendum observers.

In Kurdish cities, there were violent attempts against ”no” voters and/or people who sought to shed light on attempts at fraud, particularly in Diyarbakır, where three people were killed for attempting to prevent illegal voting practices. Elsewhere in the city’s Bağlar district, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) observer Sedat Köse was detained. Two people voted openly in Gaziantep despite a prohibition in doing so, while in nearby Şanlıurfa, a state official also forced citizens to openly cast their vote.

Sendika.Org News