Many elections we have witnessed make us question election security in every aspect. “Are our votes safe, are there any extra votes?” Questions like these have been circulating in our minds for a while due to the election agenda.
A similar claim was made in the elections held on May 14, 2023, and additional 6.7 million voters cast their ballots The information spread on social media. Of course, during these sharings, reached a different point from its source. As a result, the rhetoric of “6.7 million extra votes” was filled with different claims by users.
One of these claims is Investigative Journalist Füsun Sarp Nebil, whom we know for her articles in the field of informatics and technology. belonged to. his own the research he has been carrying out with experts since October. details were published on Türk-İnternet.com. We asked Füsun Sarp Nebil about the details of her research as well as about the allegations of extra 6.7 million voters.
Some Twitter users claimed that an additional 6.7 million voters cast their votes in the last election we experienced.
The claim in the post was recently denied by Teyit.org. Because the number of voters is confused with the number of people voting. You know that even though there are 60 million domestic voters who have the right to vote in the election, Not all 60 million voters went to the polls to vote. omitted in the calculation and wrong That was the point.
A total of 64 million 191 thousand 285 people at home and abroad had the right to vote; Voters using the vote are also included in this number. including. For this reason, 8 million voters included in the calculation in the above post are already included in the first article; so there is an extra number in the middle. When we check the data of Anadolu Agency and the explanations on the number of voters made by the YSK, we can see the difference between The gap of 6.7 million is closed. We see.
Of course, some information on the internet can be handled with different sentences or similar different claims can be made about a subject. This is also the case of Ms. Füsun. has a similar claim to the one in the post But this claim documents after months of research. was put forth. So what does Füsun Sarp Nebil say about this?
Ms. Füsun states that between 2007 and 2023, the number of our voters increased by 6.7 million compared to our population.
You can reach Füsun Sarp Nebil’s article about her work with 6.7 million extra voters by clicking here.
Between those years 21.4 million voters in response to the increase between the same years 14.6 million of our population Ms. Füsun, who says that she has experienced an increase, states that the reason for the difference is that they could not reach a conclusion in her work that lasted for months and that she carried out with experts.
One of the first possibilities that comes to our minds aging of the young population; that is, the increase in the number of individuals who are over the age of 18 and who can vote. However, Ms. Füsun, this situation does not increase the number of voters. can increase by half a million explains.
In the research, which also evaluates other possibilities, the 6.7 million increase in the number of voters between 2007 and 2023 cannot be explained. For this reason, Füsun Sarp Nebil underlines that the YSK should make a statement. Because, according to his research, not only between the years in question; In the 2023 elections, the number of voters is 1.8 million more than the population growth rate. Moreover, there are years when this number is much higher.
If you wish, you can reach the details of Ms. Füsun’s research by clicking here. Because throughout our content on the details of the research. We will touch on many points. So, in the light of all this, let’s move on to the questions that come to our minds and the answers we received from Ms. Füsun, based on her research.
Question 1: According to an international article, in the 2017 referendum, 11% of the ballot boxes systematically had abnormally high turnout and “Yes” votes. When these chests are removed, the “Yes” rate drops from 51.4% to less than 50%. What are your thoughts on this subject?
2017 Referendum Results
You can find the link to the article in question here.
I have been involved in the election processes by NGOs, journalists, academics and even parties. not paying enough attention, not being focused I think. It is obvious that we do not appreciate the Republic, especially women’s rights, which we received as a gift in 1923. No one among the Muslim countries of the world was as industrialized as us and could run their economy without oil. Now we are going backwards as religious behavior outweighs. One of the main reasons for this is that we expect everything from others (like the opposition does not do this or that).
Isn’t the article you just presented a disgrace for Turkish academics? Why wasn’t this done by academics at our universities? Even if it has been done, I do not know and you are compelled to show me a foreign article. But funny, after my analysis was published, I got various comments or questions from a lot of academics. However, I should have asked them. For years, I think that we have been going through a period in which sociological research is very necessary in the country. Where is the sociological research of this country?
After all Analyzing is not the job of journalists. The job of journalists is to report the analysis, but as you can see, it fell to us to analyze it in the end. I wish I had started doing it years ago.
I had a look at this article. I do not know the academics and therefore I have no idea how much they know Turkey. But I think if it was carried out by our country’s universities, what you mentioned would be It will go much lower than 50%. I also believe. Remember, we were talking for a while; According to the results of this election One out of every 2 people is from AKP. Well, we were saying, where is this AKP member, not you, not me, everyone is complaining.
Question 2: In your article, you said “–I cannot understand where it came from–”. Which possibilities do you think might outweigh? There are many allegations such as making refugees and the dead vote, selling citizenship for money. As you mentioned in your article, Mehmet Ali Birand noticed that although the AKP was in the range of 26-29% in the polls, the result was 46%. Do you have any information about whether there is a similar situation in Turkish political history? That is, were there any examples of surveys and result contradictions?
Polls Before 2023 Presidential Elections
I write about information and technology. My interest in politics is at the citizen level. My interest in this article is actually the result of the process that started when I was asked to write an article on SEÇSİS in November 2021. Everyone has been asking about the security of election software for years. Well 1 goes in here, 3 comes out from there? like etc. But we realized that it was not a software related thing. If you have more problems a physical problem should be. Such as the fact that the field is not well organized, the minutes are not kept correctly, mistakes made inadvertently or deliberately in data entry while processing to SEÇSİS, absurdities such as the acceptance of unsealed votes, or odd number of voters.
On the other hand, perhaps it will be necessary to look a little more carefully at this survey and election relationship. In other words, there are opposite results in periods when the numbers are strange.
Question 3: In your article, “The business software of Kale Yazilim, which has been doing the work of the General Directorate of Population Affairs for 20 years, was purchased by a company called Global IT (which was established under Turkcell just 1 year ago) in January 2023. What is the meaning of this change before the election?” you said. Prior to the election, Turkcell management sent a message to its employees in the Istanbul headquarters, informing them that entrances to the plaza and offices would not be allowed due to “technical infrastructure works” on the night of the election. Moreover, it was said that employees could not connect to computers with VPN. Then Turkcell made a statement on this subject. Do you think there might be a relationship between
You can access Turkcell’s statement by clicking here.
This is a situation that has been told to me by Turkcell’s own employees since 2009 in the “what’s going on, you learn” mode. As a result, technical friends attack etc. from the network. They say nothing like that has been done. But then why are people banned from entering the building and the network? For example, the network management center is already an area that not everyone can access, but can be entered with special passwords. Then why shouldn’t people come to the office to work in their rooms in the huge building? What is it that they don’t want to be seen? That day the company where the network administration center becomes the election administration center I have a guess.
On the other hand, 4 months before the election, the dismissal of Kale Yazılım, which has been working for years (which is how the company’s employees describe the situation), and Giving it to a company established under the AKP-ruled Turkcell is also suspicious. What is the reason for this?
Question 4: There has been no census in the classical method for 17 years. The finger paint requirement was also removed. How much would their return affect election security? Is it enough to block the extra votes on its own?
address-based electoral systemI think it is a more civilized and better system than the classical system. The real problem here is the abolition of the powers of the headmen. Headmen used to know what was in that neighborhood, in that village. They knew people. The structure of these years has been eliminated.
It may or may not be finger paint (there are chemicals that remove it, but it’s not easy to reach those chemicals). So it eliminates individual forgery but organized forgery.
Question 5: YSK does not make an explanation about the abnormal increase in the number of voters. Did the opposition contact you to learn the details of your work?
There are 4 parties belonging to the opposition (since October), about which I explained the situation before. I do not know why the YSK does not make a statement on the subject. These numbers are their responsibility, so they should put our minds at ease. So this figure maybe makes sense. In that case why should they explain it but if it doesn’t make sense, there’s a major problem. It’s weird that they don’t respond.
Question 6: Polimetre Research company announced that there were more than 1 million 990 thousand votes for Erdoğan in the 14 May elections, and stated that ballot box security must be ensured in the districts. Have you reviewed this study?
You can access the graphics shared by Polymetre Research Company here.
I think every research and analysis is important. Yes, I did, and about the analysis they did. I’m waiting for the Supreme Court to say. They didn’t say anything to him either. I wonder why?