Court Finds Election Council Guilty on Accessibility

In 2011, Süleyman Eryiğit (51), a physically disabled Izmir province resident, filed a lawsuit against Turkey's election council for non-pecuniary damages because he was unable to vote in the ballot drop location with no accession. He filed another lawsuit on local election officials for misconduct.

Last week, the court found the election council guilty, awarding Eryiğit with 2,000 Euros for non-pecuniary damages.

"This case is a gain for all people with disabilities in Turkey," Eryiğit said after the verdict was announced. "In every election, it's the same. Our relatives have to carry us all the way up. This time, I registered myself as diasabled in the hope that they could arrange my accessibility. But it was on the third floor. I was afraid I could fall. This is why I went to court."

Prior to the local elections in 2011, Eryiğit made his ballot registry as "disabled" to benefit from accessibility options for voting.

On the day of election, Eryiğit became astonished to find his ballot drop location on the third floor of a building with no elevator. The voting center officials reflected his proposal to vote on the ground floor, which Eryiğit documented for prosecution.

"The court found the council guilty. This is good for me. But I am not sure whether this is going to change anything in the next elections. Disabled people like me always go through challenges like this in Turkey," Eryiğit said.  (NV)

* This article is compiled from yenigün.com.tr