Political parties to submit candidate lists: Deadline is February 20

The election calendar for the Local Administration General Elections to be held on March 31 is currently underway by the Supreme Election Council (YSK).

The locations and ballot boxes for voting in the March 31 Local Administration General Elections will be determined between February 7-11.

Political parties will submit their candidate lists for mayoral, municipal council, and provincial general assembly elections no later than 5:00 PM on Tuesday, February 20, and independent candidates will also be able to apply until 5:00 PM on the same day.

Deficiencies in the candidate lists will be completed by February 22, and the final candidate lists will be announced on March 3.

VOTING LOCATIONS AND BALLOT BOXES TO BE DETERMINED

According to the calendar, the suspension lists regarding detainees and those convicted of negligent crimes will be compared with the second list requested from the Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices. Changes will be processed into the Computer-Assisted Central Voter Registry System and will be put up for suspension on February 3.

Voter registries will be finalized on February 7. The locations and ballot boxes where voters will cast their votes will be determined between February 7-11.

District election boards will begin creating mobile ballot boxes, registering bedridden voters due to illness or disability for mobile ballot boxes, and determining the ballot box committees they will be associated with on February 12.

Lists will be submitted by 5:00 PM on February 20

FINAL CANDIDATE LISTS TO BE ANNOUNCED

Political party district presidencies will submit candidate lists for mayoral, municipal council, and provincial general assembly elections to district election boards; in metropolitan cities, political party provincial presidencies will submit metropolitan mayoral candidate lists to provincial election boards by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, February 20.

Independent candidates will also be able to submit their applications no later than 5:00 PM on Tuesday, February 20.

Political parties will be able to complete deficiencies in the candidate lists until February 22. Provisional candidate lists, including those of independent candidates, will be announced on February 23, and the objection period for the lists will begin on the same day. Final candidate lists will be announced on March 3.

The printing and distribution of combined ballot papers to district election board presidencies will begin on March 3.

Freedom of propaganda will begin on March 21.

Freedom of propaganda and certain election bans will begin on the morning of Thursday, March 21, 2024.

The distribution of voter information slips to voters will be completed on March 24. On March 28, the lists regarding detainees and those convicted of negligent crimes will be finalized.

CANDIDATES FROM 35 PARTIES WILL COMPETE

Freedom of propaganda will end at 6:00 PM on Saturday, March 30. Voters will head to the polls on March 31.

In the eastern provinces, voting will begin at 7:00 AM and end at 4:00 PM. In the western provinces, voting will begin at 8:00 AM and be completed at 5:00 PM.

Candidates from 35 parties will compete

Within the scope of the YSK's election calendar, the positions of the 35 political parties that will participate in the election on the combined ballot paper were determined by a draw held on January 27.

ORDER OF PARTIES ON THE BALLOT PAPER

1 AK Party, 2 IYI Party, 3 Left Party, 4 Great Unity Party, 5 Homeland Party, 6 Motherland Party, 7 Democratic Left Party, 8 New Welfare Party, 9 Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), 10 Communist Party of Turkey, 11 Anatolian Union Party, 12 Victory Party, 13 People's Liberation Party, 14 Communist Movement of Turkey, 15 Independent Turkey Party, 16 Future Party, 17 New Turkey Party, 18 CHP, 19 Labour Party, 20 HUDA PAR, 21 Rights and Freedoms Party, 22 Ocak Party, 23 Justice Unity Party, 24 Democrat Party, 25 Power Union Party, 26 Nation Party, 27 National Path Party, 28 Justice Party, 29 Young Party, 30 Bright Democracy Party, 31 MHP, 32 Workers' Party of Turkey, 33 Democracy and Progress Party, 34 Felicity Party, and 35 Patriotic Party

VOTING HOURS MOVED ONE HOUR EARLIER

Due to the election taking place in March, the 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, the start and end times for voting will be applied as 07:00-16:00.

In provinces other than these, voting hours will be 08:00-17:00.