Turkish government 'working on online voting system amid COVID-19 pandemic'

Duvar English

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has reportedly been working on an online voting system as a precaution against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The move is part of the government's efforts on changing the law on elections, daily Hürriyet reported on Sept. 15.

According to the report, the AKP seeks to add an article that allows all parties to hold online congresses ahead of elections.

The commission set under the leadership of AKP deputy leader Hayati Yazıcı plans to finalize the draft until October. The draft will then be presented to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The commission also looked into systems in a number of countries regarding the transfer of deputies between parties, in a bid to prevent new parties from forming groups in parliament via getting lawmakers from other parties.

The AKP seeks to amend the law in a way that would prevent transfer of lawmakers, Hürriyet said, adding that the proposed amendment suggests not including lawmakers who recently switched parties to be included in parliamentary groups.

"The groups should be formed following the elections and should remain unchanged," AKP officials said.

The debate on preventing lawmakers from forming parliamentary groups emerged after main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said that CHP deputies can join the two parties founded recently by former AKP officials.

The AKP also reportedly weighs decreasing the election threshold to 5 percent from the current 10 percent.