Green Left Party to offer free transportation to hometowns for voters, quake survivors

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The İstanbul branch of the Green Left Party (YSP) has established a "Mobile Voter Commission" for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14.

According to Mehmet Uçar, co-spokesperson of the commission, they have identified what they call "mobile voters" in all İstanbul districts and have begun registering them since launching their campaign.

Registrations will close on May 10, after which they plan to send voters between May 12 and 13. Some voters, such as those from the eastern provinces of Van, Ağrı, and Kars, will have to endure a journey of approximately 20 hours. To address this, the party plans to lease buses for those voters and cover the ticket expenses of voters from western provinces that are closer to İstanbul, said Uçar.

Earthquake survivors

The commission is also working on a special initiative for earthquake survivors who have migrated from the affected regions to İstanbul since the earthquakes that struck in February, said Uçar. "We already had records of the citizens who came immediately after the earthquake. We are also trying to reach earthquake victim voters who came later."

The massive quakes that affected 11 cities in the country's south and southeast left about 3 million people displaced, according to UN figures. Hundreds of thousands of them migrated to other cities.

Uçar stressed that voters should contact the YSP's district organizations to register and cast their ballots, urging everyone to use their vote to rid the country of the "authoritarian and fascist regime."

He reminded voters that every vote counts and that they should not worry about getting to the polls as the commission will transport everyone.

The upcoming elections will determine Turkey's new president and parliamentary representatives. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is seeking reelection to extend his two-decade rule.

The YSP is the leading party of the Labor and Freedom Alliance, the third largest election alliance. The Kurdish issue-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) will run in the election under the YSP due to the ongoing closure case against it. (RT/VK)