The images show that a large group of men are fighting. A spokesman for the RAI confirms that there was a fight on Sunday, but does not want to comment further.
The police say that they were indeed on site on Sunday during ‘a disturbance in the RAI’. “That was about pushing and shoving between voters,” says the spokesperson, who also reports that no arrests have been made.
According to the police, the Turkish elections in the RAI are the responsibility of the Turkish embassy and the RAI, and the police only come to the scene ‘if there is a possibility of criminal offences’.
A spokesman for the Turkish embassy confirmed to ANP that on Sunday afternoon “a number of voters had indeed come to blows”. According to the spokesman, there was disagreement between some voters. What exactly is not known. Additional security measures are not taken after the fight.
Tensions between parties
The reason for the brawl remains unclear, although there have been tensions between supporters of incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and those of the opposition for some time. This year it consists of six parties that have united, hoping to break Erdogan’s power after years.
The votes abroad are important to Erdogan. During the last elections in 2018, the votes of Turks living abroad were decisive. Nearly 75 percent of Turks living abroad voted for Erdogan.
Vote Turkish Dutch
In the Netherlands, about 250,000 Turkish-Dutch citizens are entitled to vote. Research by think tank Clingendael shows that 44 percent of the community does not vote. Those who do go can cast their vote until May 7 in Deventer, The Hague and Amsterdam and until May 1 in Eindhoven. In Amsterdam you can vote in hall 8 of the RAI, the place where the fight is also on the images.
After voting, the ballots will go to Ankara and will be counted on May 14 – the day on which voting can take place in Turkey itself.
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2023-05-01 10:09:30
#Brawl #RAI #voters #Turkish #elections
