Published in the Official Gazette: Election day bans announced

The Supreme Election Council's (YSK) decision determining the bans to be applied from 06:00 to 23:59 on voting day for the Local Administration General Elections to be held on March 31, 2024, has been published in the Official Gazette.

Accordingly, the sale of alcoholic beverages and the consumption of any kind of alcoholic beverage in public places and establishments serving alcohol will be prohibited from 06:00 to 23:59 on election day.

Except for those tasked with maintaining security and public order, no one will be allowed to carry the weapons specified in sub-clauses 1, 2, 3, and 5 of clause (f) of Article 6 of the Turkish Penal Code (firearms, explosives, all kinds of cutting, piercing, or bruising tools made for attack and defense, as well as incendiary, corrosive, wounding, suffocating, poisonous, or nuclear, radioactive, chemical, or biological substances that cause permanent illness) in villages, towns, and cities.

During the voting period, all public entertainment venues such as coffeehouses, tea houses, cafes, and internet cafes will remain closed, and restaurants that qualify as entertainment venues will only be allowed to serve food.

Provided that election bans are observed, weddings may be held after 18:00 on voting day.

BROADCASTS WILL BE PERMITTED AFTER 21:00

Until 18:00 on voting day, it will be prohibited for radios and all types of media outlets to broadcast news, predictions, and commentary regarding the elections and election results.

Between 18:00 and 21:00, only news and communiqués issued by the YSK regarding the elections may be broadcast on radios and all types of media outlets.

All broadcasts will be permitted after 21:00; however, if the YSK deems it necessary, it may decide to allow broadcasts before 21:00 as well.

In another decision, the YSK also determined the broadcasting principles that media and broadcasting organizations must follow during the period from January 1, 2024, until the end of the election.

The decision stated that "radio and television organizations, as well as print, oral, and visual media, which are obliged to act in accordance with the principles of impartiality, reality, and accuracy, cannot make one-sided, biased broadcasts, and that these organizations are required to ensure equal opportunity among political parties and independent candidates within the framework of democratic rules in their broadcasts."

News Source: AA