Özerdağ: Abolishing Mixed Voting Will Ease Vote Counting

Özerdağ, who is also President of the Supreme Court, appeared as a guest on “Objektif,” a programme on Kıbrıs Postası TV hosted and presented by Erçin Şahmaran.

Özerdağ discussed the scope of election bans, restrictions on social media and opinion polls, and the possibility of holding two elections simultaneously in December. He said plans were underway to increase the number of polling stations if the two elections were held on the same day, adding that work on the election calendar and polling station arrangements was continuing. He also said the abolition of mixed voting would provide some relief during the counting process.

“THE AIM OF ELECTION BANS IS TO PREVENT ADVANTAGES AT VOTER LEVEL”

Özerdağ provided information about election bans. Referring to provisions in Article 79 of the Election and Referendum Law concerning activities that cannot be carried out during elections, Özerdağ said the purpose of such restrictions was to prevent candidates and parties from gaining advantages among voters in their own favour.

He said certain permits, land allocations and employment decisions were among the activities prohibited during the election period, adding that there were also regulations governing campaigning.

“MONITORING CAMPAIGNING ON SOCIAL MEDIA IS BECOMING MORE DIFFICULT”

Özerdağ also assessed the challenges posed by social media in enforcing election bans.

Recalling that the campaign ban begins 24 hours before elections, Özerdağ said campaigning had unfortunately shifted to social media and the internet during these periods. He said monitoring social media had become more difficult and recalled that campaigning had continued on Facebook during previous elections.

Özerdağ said the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTHK) had presented them with two options in this regard. One was to completely block access to Facebook, which he described as an excessive measure and therefore not one they preferred to implement.

The other method, he explained, involved identifying those responsible for posts after the posts were referred to police teams and then initiating the relevant legal process.

POLLS CAN BE PUBLISHED UNTIL 15 DAYS BEFORE ELECTIONS

Özerdağ said opinion polls could be published until 15 days before an election, after which authorities could order the removal of polls that were subsequently shared and initiate legal proceedings against those who published them.

He noted that in some countries, polls could be published until one or two days before an election, but stressed that the YSK was an institution responsible for implementing decisions. He said the existing rules could be implemented differently if the law were amended accordingly.

POSSIBILITY OF HOLDING TWO ELECTIONS IN DECEMBER

Özerdağ also assessed the possibility of holding both elections in December, saying they were working on preparations for such a scenario.

He said that if Parliament, which convened on October 8, decided that the general election should also be held on December 6, the general election bans would come into effect on October 9 and the election calendar would begin.

“THE NUMBER OF POLLING STATIONS IS PLANNED TO BE INCREASED”

Özerdağ said the two elections had never previously been held simultaneously and that various preparations were therefore being made to reduce the workload and ensure a smoother election process.

He said they were considering increasing the number of polling stations and were working on a calculation of around 300 voters per polling station.

Özerdağ noted that voters would need more time because they would be required to cast five ballots.

“The voter will also need more time because there will be five ballots to cast. If they can normally do it in one minute, perhaps it will take two or five minutes. Most importantly, once voting ends, the polling station committees will have to carry out the counting and tabulation,” he said.

Özerdağ said approximately 16 forms would have to be completed and that having fewer voters cast their ballots at each polling station could make the process easier. He added that the election boards were working on the possible number and locations of polling stations accordingly.

“THE NUMBER OF POLLING STATIONS WILL BE DETERMINED NEXT WEEK”

Özerdağ said 777 polling stations had been established for the presidential election, adding that the number would exceed this figure in any case.

He explained that parliamentary and local elections were more challenging in terms of numbers and said a larger increase in the number of polling stations was being considered because the two elections could be held simultaneously.

Özerdağ announced that the exact number of polling stations would be determined next week and that the number of registered voters would also be announced.

“POLLING STATION CHAIRMEN TO RECEIVE 20,000 TL, MEMBERS 25,000 TL”

Özerdağ also announced the payments to be made to those working at polling stations.

According to Özerdağ, polling station chairpersons will receive 20,000 TL, while polling station members will receive 25,000 TL.

“ABOLISHING MIXED VOTING WILL PROVIDE SOME RELIEF IN COUNTING”

Özerdağ said abolishing mixed voting would also make the work of polling station committees easier, noting that mixed voting accounted for 11% of votes in previous elections.

He said allowing this group of voters to use a seal instead could provide some relief. However, he noted that preference calculations would continue and said the counting process would become much easier if the preference system were also abolished.

For this reason, Özerdağ said abolishing mixed voting would “provide some relief,” adding that the election software system based on mixed voting had also been updated.