Round two in Hatay: Displaced voters determined to reach ballot boxes, again
Round two in Hatay: Displaced voters determined to reach ballot boxes, again
Turkey is preparing to go to the polls for the second round of the presidential elections on May 28. In Hatay, one of the provinces most affected by the Feb. 6 earthquakes, voting day will once again pose logistical and transportation challenges for hundreds of thousands of displaced residents.
For the first-round vote, Hatay residents largely arranged their own transportation to return to the city and cast their ballots. According to party officials, opposition voters made up the majority of displaced voters, as opposition-leaning districts generally experienced more earthquake damage in the province.
May 14 voting results showed a small margin separated the main presidential candidates in Hatay, with Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan receiving 48.03 percent of votes and opposition challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu receiving 48.80 percent.
Knowing the stakes are high for Turkey’s future and that every vote counts, Hatay voters told Turkey recap they would do their best to participate in the runoff elections, with or without transportation assistance from the government or political parties.
According to official data, nearly 500,000 people left Hatay and settled in other cities after the earthquakes. The Hatay Metropolitan Municipality, in its evaluations before May 14, estimated about half of these people werer eligible voters who would need to return to the city to vote.
After concerns over how many people would return to Hatay to vote in the first round, the turnout in the city was higher than expected. Out of more than 1 million registered voters in the province, about 880,000 citizens cast their ballots, making for a voter turnout of 83 percent.
Ahead of Sunday’s election, however, many Hatay residents said they were struggling to secure transportation to the earthquake region despite promises from various political parties, who pledged to make travel arrangements for displaced voters.
Deniz Taş, who lives in Aknehir, Defne, told Turkey recap her mother-in-law, who moved to Lüleburgaz after the earthquake, applied with the Republican People’s Party (CHP) for travel assistance to Hatay in the first round, but despite being told they would be soon contacted and helped, the family did not get a response from the party.
“No one called back. They didn't answer our phones either. My mother-in-law and her husband bought their tickets themselves,” Taş said, adding that the elderly couple decided to stay in Hatay after it became clear the elections would go to a second round.
“They didn't want to make any moves,” Taş said. “They have been in the village with us for 15 days. They will vote and return. This election is a very important one. Despite all the difficulties, we are solving the problems somehow.”
Safiye Erişir, who settled in the Talas district of Kayseri after her home in Hatay was destroyed, is another voter who applied with the CHP for transportation assistance and did not receive an answer.
Noting the family’s financial situation was not good, Erişir's husband said they eventually rented a car with money sent from relatives abroad.
“I am an earthquake victim,” Erişir said, listing the many challenges her family faced. “My house was destroyed. I came out of the rubble. My son's back was injured, he had surgery. My husband wrote our name in the first round, no one called us back. We called again for the second round, and they said, 'There’s a bus from Antep, there’s no bus from Kayseri'.”
She continued, “We asked for ticket money and they said 'no'. I spent 4,000 TL. I was very angry, I was not going to vote in the second round, then my conscience did not allow it. We have four votes, is that nothing? I bought a bus ticket with my own money. We’ll vote and return the same day.”
Erişir added she supported Kılıçdaroğlu in the first round and was very upset that he did not win. She said she backed the opposition candidate because of his pledges to provide free housing and prioritize democratic rights.
Although the voters who spoke to Turkey recap said they had difficulties reaching party officials, CHP Defne District head Akın Parlakyıldız maintained the party transported voters who filled out applications at the party’s provincial and district offices throughout Turkey.
A source close to the CHP, who spoke to Turkey recap on condition of anonymity, said that although the party did what it could, transportation assistance could not be provided for all displaced residents and many voters reached ballot boxes in the first round through their individual efforts.
"Although those who came were mostly our voters, we could not manage to arrange their arrivals," the CHP source said, adding if opposition votes increase in the second round, it would be due to the efforts of the voters, and not the opposition parties.
In the first round, CHP, the pro-Kurdish Green Left Party (YSP) and the Turkish Workers' Party (TİP) provided buses for voters who wanted assistance with travel expenses.
Turkey’s disaster management agency, AFAD, also helped transport voters in the first round and announced it would do the same in the second round. AFAD covers bus tickets or fuel costs for displaced voters who apply for reimbursement.
In the first-round, Kılıçdaroğlu led the vote in Hatay, Adana and Diyarbakır, three of 10 earthquake-impacted provinces.
Erdoğan's vote share in Hatay dropped by half a percentage point compared to the 2018 elections, with his Justice and Development Party (AKP) losing about two percentage points. This loss resulted in the AKP's number of deputies in the city decreasing from five to four.
After playing an active role in rescue and aid efforts in the city after the earthquakes, TİP gained seats in Hatay, while the İYİ Party also elected its first deputy ever in the province on May 14. Along with the AKP, YSP lost a parliamentary seat in the province.
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Diego Cupolo, co-founder + editor @diegocupolo
Gonca Tokyol, freelance journalist @goncatokyol
Ingrid Woudwijk, freelance journalist @deingrid
Verda Uyar, freelance journalist @verdauyar
Gökalp Badak, editorial intern @gklpbdk
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