Ninety-four ballot boxes from eight different neighborhoods will be combined into one ballot box in a school building in each of the neighborhoods in the southeastern province of Batman, the media reported on Tuesday.
Speaking to the press, Batman Provincial Election Board head Şirin Kurhan said the ballot boxes from the eight neighborhoods will not be removed as per the recent decision by the Supreme Election Board (YSK) but will only be combined. The eight neighborhoods are Yavuz Selim, Petrolkent, Pazaryeri, GAP, Seyitler, Belde, 19 Mayıs and Petrol.
The YSK voted on Oct. 3 to reject requests from local election boards in several districts in the restive Southeast to move polling sites for the upcoming Nov. 1 parliamentary election.
The attempts to relocate ballot boxes have been decried by opposition parties, who accuse the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) of attempting to push the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) below the 10 percent election threshold in the Nov. 1 snap election. The HDP led the polls during the June 7 parliamentary election in all the districts where there have been requests to transfer polling stations.
The Konya Police Department's counterterrorism unit conducted dawn raids against the Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H) -- an affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) -- across the province, detaining 14 people suspected of being linked with the group.
The simultaneous raids were carried out in Konya, Gaziantep and Batman, where 14 suspects, including two women, were detained. The suspected YDG-H members were reportedly taken to the Konya Police Department's counterterrorism unit for interrogation.
Five members of the terrorist PKK were also arrested on Tuesday, as a result of the operations carried in Kızıltepe and Dargeçit districts on Oct. 5 against the PKK by police officers from the Mardin Police Department.
Fuente: http://www.todayszaman.com/national_94-ballot-boxes-in-batman-to-be-comb...
