ISTANBUL
The voting process the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality started at 08.00 hours will end at 17.00.
With 31, 342 ballot boxes in 39 districts of Istanbul, 10 million 560 thousand 963 people are expected to vote.
CHP candidate Ekrem Imamoglu, AKP-MHP fascist block candidate Binali Yildirim, Saadet Party candidate Necdet Gokcinar, Vatan Party candidate Mustafa Ilker Yucel and 17 independent candidates will compete in the elections.
After Elections
This process certainly cannot accept any mistakes. After 23 June, after the Istanbul elections, we can expect only one of the two options: either we enter a reasonable negotiation process, or a big war will come.
On this day, it remains an absolute necessity to stand clear ground in the face of a system which has based itself on death and oppression. The way that this can be achieved has been set out by the Peoples Leader, Abdullah Ocalan as well as HDP Co-Chair Selehattin Demirtas.
As with every other election, the Kurdish people are entering polling stations with hope for a better, more just future. We can only assume that unless the number of vote thefts increases, the AKP/MHP coalition do not stand a chance.
Of course, there is a possibility that a sudden, unplanned coup occurs just as the votes are being counted, or an asteroid hits the polling stations. Or the dictators could just steal votes. This does not become hard to imagine, following Erdogans desperate attempts to remain in power.
The difference lies in the period; the people have resisted, they have succeeded, and they are ready for a democratic change. In any miracle that Erdogan survives in today’s elections, the future of the Turkish state does not seem very stable. Since the capture of the people’s leader, the Kurdish problem which was expected to fade out has hit the state like an avalanche.
At this point, it becomes clear that the will of the Kurdish people is the leader, Abdullah Ocalan, and the path he has set out is the path the people are for. In any case, the demands regarding the leader’s freedom and democratic ground must be established for the peace of Turkey and Northern Kurdistan.
