Ballot Boxes Open for İstanbul Metropolitan Mayoral Election Rerun

* Photograph: Anadolu Agency

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Ballot boxes have opened for İstanbul Metropolitan Mayoral election rerun. The voting procedure started at 8 a.m. local time in Turkey across İstanbul and ballot boxes will be open till 5 p.m. today (June 23).

10 million 560 thousand 963 İstanbulites, who are eligible to vote, will cast their votes at 31 thousand 342 ballot boxes across İstanbul.

Nation Alliance's candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), People's Alliance's candidate Binali Yıldırım from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Felicity Party (SP) candidate Necdet Gökçınar and Patriotic Party candidate Mustafa İlker Yücel will compete today along with 17 other independent candidates.

68 thousand 17 citizens ineligible to vote

The Directorate General of Electoral Register of the Supreme Election Council (YSK) announced it on June 18 that according to the data they received from the Ministry of Interior's Directorate General of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs, 68 thousand 17 voters in İstanbul have been annotated as ineligible to vote in today's elections.

While 33 thousand 775 people cannot vote today because they are under arms, 8 thousand 93 people cannot vote because they are convicted, 4 thousand 633 people because they are restricted voters, 21 thousand 157 people because they died, 359 people because they were denaturalized.

CLICK - YSK Cancels İstanbul Local Elections

On May 6, 2019, the Supreme Election Council (YSK) ruled that İstanbul Metropolitan Mayoral elections, which were held on March 31, shall be annulled and repeat elections shall be held on June 23, namely today.

When will the early results be announced?

All news, forecasts and comments pertaining to elections are forbidden to be published or broadcast by media outlets until 6 p.m. From 6 and 9 p.m., the outlets in question are solely allowed to broadcast or publish the news and statement to be released by the Supreme Election Council.

After the electoral restrictions come to an end, the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) and ANKA Agency will start announcing the early election results. The CHP has also announced that it will also share the results by collecting the minutes of ballot boxes through a system that it established itself. (TP/SD)