Questions about the local elections answered: Here are the March 31, 2024 elections in 15 questions

Turkey is preparing to head to the polls for the local administration elections to be held on Sunday, March 31, 2024, to elect its local administrators.

The election calendar of the Supreme Election Council (YSK), which began on January 1, is underway. 15 questions and their answers regarding the election process, voting, and the counting of votes have been compiled.

1- Until when can the voter lists posted for review be checked?

Voter lists have been posted at neighborhood headman offices (muhtarliks). Voters must check their names by Wednesday, January 17. Those who cannot find their names on the list should apply to provincial and district population directorates.

2- When will the voter lists be finalized?

On February 7, voter registries will be finalized, and the process of determining where voters will cast their ballots and the polling stations will begin. The determination of polling places and ballot boxes will be completed on February 11.

3 - When will the voter information slips arrive?

The printing and distribution of voter information slips will begin on February 29. The distribution of voter information slips to voters will be completed on March 24.

4 - How many political parties will participate in the election?

The Supreme Election Council (YSK) has determined that 36 political parties meet the requirements to participate.

Accordingly, the parties that can participate in the election in alphabetical order are: Adalet Birlik Partisi, Adalet Partisi, Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, Anadolu Birliği Partisi, Anavatan Partisi, Aydınlık Demokrasi Partisi, Bağımsız Türkiye Partisi, Büyük Birlik Partisi, Büyük Türkiye Partisi, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, Demokrasi ve Atılım Partisi, Demokratik Sol Parti, Demokrat Parti, Emek Partisi, Gelecek Partisi, Genç Parti, Güç Birliği Partisi, Hak ve Özgürlükler Partisi, Halkın Kurtuluş Partisi, Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi, Hür Dava Partisi, İYİ Parti, Memleket Partisi, Millet Partisi, Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, Milli Yol Partisi, Saadet Partisi, Sol Parti, Türkiye İşçi Partisi, Türkiye Komünist Hareketi, Türkiye Komünist Partisi, Vatan Partisi, Yeniden Refah Partisi, Yenilik Partisi, Yeni Türkiye Partisi, and Zafer Partisi.

5 - When will the lists of mayoral candidates for political parties be finalized?

Political parties will be required to submit their lists of candidate nominees to the relevant election boards by January 31. Political parties will complete any deficiencies in the candidate lists by February 22. Provisional candidate lists will be announced on February 23, and final candidate lists will be announced on March 3.

6 - What will voters living within metropolitan municipality boundaries vote for?

Except for exceptions specified in the law, each voter will only be able to vote at the ballot box where they are registered on the electoral roll. A voter will only be able to vote for elections held in the electoral district where they are registered.

Voters in Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Aydın, Balıkesir, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Erzurum, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, Hatay, İstanbul, İzmir, Kahramanmaraş, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Muğla, Ordu, Sakarya, Samsun, Şanlıurfa, Tekirdağ, Trabzon, and Van will vote for "metropolitan mayor," "district mayor," "municipal council membership," and "neighborhood headman (muhtar) and council of elders."

7 - What will be voted for in provinces that are not metropolitan municipalities?

In provinces that are not metropolitan municipalities, votes will be cast for "provincial general assembly membership," "mayor," "municipal council membership," and "neighborhood headman (muhtar) and council of elders."

8 - What will voters living in villages vote for?

In villages, votes will be cast for "provincial general assembly membership" and "headmanship (muhtarlık) and council of elders."

9 - What color are the ballot papers?

The ballot paper for metropolitan mayoral elections will be "white," the ballot for provincial general assembly memberships will be "orange," the ballot for mayoral elections will be "blue," and the ballot for municipal council membership will be "yellow."

10 - How many envelopes will all the ballots be placed in?

Voters will place all ballot papers into a single envelope.

11 - What are the voting hours?

Due to the elections taking place in March, the Supreme Election Council (YSK) has moved the voting hours one hour earlier in 32 eastern provinces, taking into account seasonal conditions and sunset times. Therefore, in the provinces of Adıyaman, Ağrı, Artvin, Bingöl, Bitlis, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Erzincan, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gümüşhane, Hakkari, Kars, Malatya, Kahramanmaraş, Mardin, Muş, Ordu, Rize, Siirt, Sivas, Trabzon, Tunceli, Şanlıurfa, Van, Bayburt, Batman, Şırnak, Ardahan, Iğdır, and Kilis, as well as in penal institutions located in these provinces, voting will take place between 07:00 and 16:00.

In all other provinces, voting hours will be from 08:00 to 17:00.

12 - What time will the counting of votes begin?

Votes cannot be counted before 16:00 in provinces where voting hours are 07:00-16:00, and before 17:00 in other provinces. Even if all voters on the electoral roll have cast their ballots, ballot boxes will strictly not be opened before the end of the voting period.

13 - Which votes will be counted first?

In metropolitan municipalities, the counting and tallying of ballots will be conducted in the following order: metropolitan mayoral election, district mayoral election, municipal council membership, and neighborhood headman (muhtar) election. In other provinces, the order will be: mayoral election, municipal council membership, provincial general assembly membership, and neighborhood headman (muhtar) election.

14 - Will voters abroad be able to vote?

Every voter registered in the overseas electoral roll has the right to vote in parliamentary general elections, presidential elections, and referendums at ballot boxes established at overseas representative offices and customs gates. Voters abroad cannot vote in local elections.

15- Will voters in prisons be able to vote?

According to the Constitution, convicts in penal institutions cannot vote, except for those convicted of negligent crimes. For detainees in penal institutions and those convicted of negligent crimes, ballot boxes will be set up in prisons for this election as well.

News Source: AA