Speaking at the opening of the meeting hosted by the Istanbul Governor's Office, Deputy Minister of Interior Mehmet Ersoy wished God's mercy to the citizens who lost their lives in the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş on 6 February and a speedy recovery to the injured.
Deputy Minister Mehmet Ersoy stated that they hold these security coordination meetings in every election period and said, “However, our Minister, Mr. Süleyman Soylu used to preside, but this time, due to this painful disaster we experienced, our Minister could not be with us at our meetings because he was busy working in the earthquake zone.” he said.
Pointing out that Turkey expects a very important election process as it enters its new century, Deputy Minister Mehmet Ersoy continued as follows:
“As the Ministry of Interior, we have carried out our duties with the clarity of our minds in all elections so far. We are sure that we will fulfill our responsibility with the same care and effort in this election with the experience and knowledge we have gained from the elections we have carried out so far. As the Ministry of Interior, our position here is very clear and precise. The election is the people's choice. The political meaning and results of the work are not in our field of duty and interest as the Ministry. Our duty is to provide an environment where our citizens can reflect their free will to the ballot box in a healthy way without causing any setbacks, disruptions or security weaknesses.”
Deputy Minister Mehmet Ersoy noted that they always consider election security in three points, the first of which is the pre-election campaign and propaganda period.
Listing the second as the security of voting on the election day, Deputy Minister Mehmet Ersoy said, “The third is the security of counting the votes after the election, transmitting the results, minutes, lists, all documents and ballot papers to the relevant places in a healthy manner and in accordance with the election law. For our measures before the voting day, we will take into account our sensitivities in programs such as meeting areas, assembly areas, stand works, distribution of brochures and iftar due to the fact that this election period coincides with the month of Ramadan. In order to ensure the security in the environment, our relevant units will be on duty at all times in order to follow up cybercrime aimed at preventing terrorist organization propaganda or other kinds of provocations on social media, and digital election efforts.” used his statements.
Deputy Minister Mehmet Ersoy emphasized that the most important issue they will pay attention to is not to prevent freedom of expression for security reasons.
Stating that security exists to provide an environment of free expression and choice, our Deputy Minister Mr. Mehmet Ersoy said, “We will use a third eye while taking security measures in meetings open and closed to the press during the campaign period. We will definitely establish units that will monitor and control the measures taken from the outside. In addition, we will not allow those under the age of 18 to distribute election brochures, election materials, posters, etc. during election campaigns. As you can appreciate, people can sometimes overreact in these studies. There can be tensions.” said.
“Election Means Law”
Deputy Minister Mehmet Ersoy underlined that the permits of all personnel working in law enforcement units will be revoked in this election, too, except for mandatory cases, and said:
“On the election day, a total of 601 personnel will be on duty, including our Police, Gendarmerie, Coast Guard, security guards and temporary security guards. In addition, all our air elements such as helicopters, UAVs, airplanes (IKU), drones, ships and boats, and combat vehicles will be ready for their duties in order to assist with security measures. Our gendarmerie intelligence and security intelligence units will take part in this process in an integrated manner with all our security camera systems. All our relevant units and personnel will be on duty with full capacity regarding the protection of sensitive people and places, the protection of places that are important for energy infrastructure, security issues during the campaign period, and possible provocative actions.”
Expressing that in-service training will definitely be given to the personnel who will be employed in the voting places, our Deputy Minister Mr. Mehmet Ersoy gave the following information:
“The press will be constantly informed about the election security measures taken at the headquarters and from our governorships. In particular, people with weapons on the election day will not be allowed to enter the buildings where the ballot boxes are located. Likewise, people who have badges, emblems, etc., which have a propaganda effect, will not be allowed to enter the ballot box in this election, as in every election. Security cameras and lighting is one of the most important issues that we will be sensitive about.”
“11 million 119 thousand 560 citizens will go to the ballot box”
Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said that all units of the state took all necessary measures to ensure that the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections to be held on Sunday, 14 May, could be held in an environment of peace and security.
Pointing out that they have crowned democracy with all the general and local elections held as a country to date, Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said, “According to the data received from the Provincial Election Board on January 23, we have 18,4 million 11 thousand 119 citizens in Istanbul, which is 560 percent of the total number of voters in our country. It will go to the polls on May 14.” he said.
Touching on the work to be done after today's Election Region Security meeting, the Governor of Istanbul, Mr. Ali Yerlikaya said:
“After this meeting, we will have clarified the provincial election security plans with our city's police, gendarmerie and coast guard units, with the Provincial Election Security Meeting we will hold on Friday as Istanbul. With this plan, we will make all our efforts together to ensure that the entire process before the election day and after the election takes place in peace and security.”
The governors of Bilecik, Bursa, Düzce, Edirne, Istanbul, Kırklareli, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Tekirdağ and Yalova, as well as the heads of the Ministry of Interior, Gendarmerie, Police and Coast Guard, attended the meeting chaired by Deputy Minister Mehmet Ersoy.