Dutch Voting Irregularities Among Turkish Voters

Today, the Netherlands held local elections. The below report indicates that there have been voting irregularities among the Turkish-Dutch voters. According to the reports, Turkish people are improperly accompanying Turkish voters into the polling booths and giving them advise in Turkish. This figures to help the DENK party, a Turkish Muslim party in the  Netherlands.

I have translated the below article into English.


https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/1817170/meldingen-van-turkse-waarnemers-in-stemhok

Reports of Turkish 'observers' in voting booth

Updated 1 hour ago

Today, 15:13 in DINNLAND

AMSTERDAM - UPDATE - Turkish 'observers' would accompany voters in at least two Amsterdam electoral locations in the voting booth to explain everything in Turkish. This is reported on Twitter. The municipality has a statement that is at odds with the findings of voters, but will do some investigation.

A polling station at Amsterdam Central.

VARA comedian Johan Goossens tweeted Wednesday after the vote: "I predict a great victory for Denk in my neighborhood Bos en Lommer in Amsterdam. In the polling room they give personal voting advice in Turkish and even go with you in the booth ... I said something about it, but no one intervened. Bizarre."

Only A voter must enter the voting booth because of the voting secrecy. This is to prevent someone from being forced or influenced to vote for something. Only people with a disability can be helped. According to Goossens, who confirms his story by telephone, the latter was not the case.

"Guys, this is not allowed?"

"I arrived at the polling station and that observer pointed out the older couple on the list. They spoke in Turkish and a moment later the person with the older couple disappeared into the booth, pushed through. I said, guys, this is not allowed? There were five other observers, but they did not look up. This is serious. "

Reported investigation

Goossens has complained to the Electoral Council and the municipality of Amsterdam. The municipality indicates that they take the message from Goossens seriously. A spokesperson says that the report is now being investigated. Among other things, a visit will be made to the polling station.

Political scientist Merijn Boezer found something similar in the local electoral office of Meevaart in the Indische Buurt in Amsterdam. "I think it is not allowed to help people who do not speak Dutch in the voting booth? Walk in and stay at the booth for a while ... So this happened in the Indische Buurt, Meervaart electoral space. "Later, Boezer corrected his report, it turns out to be the Meevaart bureau, Meervaart office is located in Amsterdam Nieuw-West.

Response Amsterdam

According to the municipality of Amsterdam, there was indeed a note about the state of affairs at the polling station in Bos en Lommer, which was also included in the official report. "After the report we went to the location with two officials to find out what happened," says the municipal spokesman. "The chairman of the electoral committee intervened, because two people stood in one voting booth. That's not allowed. No voting advice was given, but told how voting works. This happened in Dutch. "According to the spokesperson, the same thing happened at the Meevaart agency.

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In response, Goossens said: "Unfortunately, this story of the municipality is not at all correct. I did not hear the observer speak a word of Dutch and he just disappeared with the couple in the voting booth, and even opened their ballot. I was the only one who said something about it. "

Rotterdam voting advice

In Rotterdam, an unknown woman gave voting advice to Turkish women in the afternoon before the entrance of a polling station. That writes RTV Rijnmond. On films that a party leader has made, it is clear that she advises women to vote against the security law and points them to the list of candidates. "An undesirable situation", says the municipality, which is not going to do any investigation.