Turkey’s largest pro-Kurdish bloc and right-wing nationalists have found common ground thanks to growing worry about potential fraud by the ruling Justice and Development Party in the June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections. The Peoples’ Democratic Party and the Iyi (Good) Party have teamed up with the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Saadet (Felicity) Party, a small Islamist party, and several trade unions and civil society initiatives to establish what they are calling the “Fair Election Platform.”

In a news conference announcing the alliance, members said their purpose is to take “collective steps” to avert tampering at polling stations. Planned efforts include training volunteers to observe the elections in person and ensure that “hundreds of thousands” of monitors will maintain a presence at each and every ballot box.

Platform members said they would deploy thrice as many observers at every polling station that is relocated. They will also use smartphone applications devised specifically to ensure swift communication between monitors and to keep a tally of ballots cast.

The elections are shaping up to be even more hotly contested than previously expected with the CHP’s pugnacious candidate, Muharrem Ince, dominating the scene. Ratings show that Ince’s interview with the pro-government Haberturk news channel that aired last night drew four times as many viewers as current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's did on the same show May 28. Opinion polls indicate that if Erdogan fails to win in a first round, his most likely opponent in a second round held on July 8 will be Ince.