WASHINGTON: Türkiye will hold another democratic election on Sunday, the country’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said.
“We regard the March 31, 2024, local elections as an essential milestone in Türkiye’s journey towards democracy,” Altun said in an article published in more than 50 media outlets in 13 countries.
Türkiye is heading to the polls on Sunday to elect city mayors, district mayors, and other local officials who will serve for the next five years, including in the hotly contested cities of Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir.
In the March 31 local elections, more than 61 million voters nationwide will cast their votes at over 200,000 polling stations with candidates from 34 political parties competing.
“Türkiye’s commitment to democratic values and innovative vision regarding local administrations, highlighted by the March 31 local elections, is of utmost importance nationally and internationally,” Altun said.
The campaigns conducted in “safe and fair” conditions during this election process demonstrate that Türkiye is “one of the leading countries” in the region in terms of “democratic maturity” and the significance placed on local administrations, he added.
Stressing that fair, transparent, and regular elections are the most fundamental components of modern democracies, Altun said, that since transitioning to a multi-party system in 1946, Türkiye has been “a leader in holding regular, fair, and transparent elections.”
Utilizing institutions such as the Supreme Election Council (YSK), elections in Türkiye are conducted with the oversight of independent judges, he said.
