Polls close in CHP primary: High turnout from citizens

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel stated in his remarks today, 'The public solidarity ballot boxes received 10 times the interest of the member ballot boxes.' Özel also called on citizens to gather in Saraçhane. It was reported that the vote counting process began after the polls closed.

Party Secretary General Selin Sayek Böke had announced that the primary ballot boxes would remain open until 19:00 due to high participation. Böke stated that the process was completed without any issues.

MORE THAN 11 MILLION PEOPLE VOTED

The CHP announced that there was great interest in the primary election held to determine its presidential candidate. As of March 23, more than 11 million people had cast their votes, with the interest shown in Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu drawing attention.

İmamoğlu was detained following an operation on his home on March 19. On March 23, he was arrested as part of a financial crimes investigation. Despite this, citizens went to the polls for İmamoğlu, who was the sole candidate in the CHP primary.

The CHP set up a total of 11,920 ballot boxes in 81 provinces and 973 districts for the primary. Of these, 5,960 were allocated for party members, and the other 5,960 were designated as solidarity ballot boxes for citizens who are not party members.

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel announced after casting his vote in Saraçhane that approximately 10 million people had voted. As of 15:30 on March 23, the number of participants exceeded 11 million, reaching a record level.

It has not yet been clarified when the primary results will be announced. CHP officials stated that the counting process is being carried out meticulously.

News Source: 12punto