Elections in prisons: 41 thousand 614 prisoners will vote 

2023-04-10 10:33:53


	 

	ISTANBUL - CİSST Advocacy Coordinator Berivan Korkut stated that 41,614 prisoners in prisons will be able to vote on May 14, while ÖHD lawyer Bülent Aşa said: "Prisoners protect their votes at all costs."

	 

	On May 14, when the Presidential and Parliamentary elections will be held, 64 million 191 thousand 285 voters will cast their votes in 195 thousand 705 ballot boxes. Thousands of prisoners, who were in prisons before, will also be among the voters.

	 

	The decision of the Supreme Election Board (YSK) on how prisoners and convicts in prisons will vote was published in the Official Gazette on March 14. According to the decision, convicts in prisons for "deliberate" crimes will not be able to vote. Prisoners, convicts (persons whose sentence has not yet been confirmed and finalized) and convicts sentenced for "negligent" acts will be able to vote on May 14. In addition, they will be able to vote in the electoral circles where prisons are located.

	 

	We talked to Berivan Korkut, Advocacy Coordinator of the Civil Society Association in the Penal Execution System (CISST), and Bülent Aşa, a member of the Lawyers' Association for Freedom (ÖHD) Istanbul Branch Prison Commission, about the right to vote, how elections are held in prisons, and election security.

	 

	41 THOUSAND 614 PRISONERS WILL VOTE

	 

	Sharing the information that according to the data of the General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses of the Ministry of Justice, as of March 1, 2023, there were 349 thousand 893 prisoners and convicts, 41 thousand 614 of them were detained. Berivan Korkut said: "There are convicts among these prisoners and that prisoners and convicts can vote. It is not known how many of the convicted prisoners will vote due to the lack of information on how many detainees are convicts, and prisoners who are outside for various reasons such as postponement of execution or conditional release can also vote. The exact number we can give right now is that 41 thousand 614 prisoners will be able to vote in prisons.”

	 

	MA / Rukiye Adıgüzel