Turkey has had at least 12 internet restrictions or shutdowns since 2015 according to new data, capping Recep Tayyip Erdogan's presidency as he seeks a new term.
With a critical presidential election runoff on Sunday, Turkish voters are on high alert for potential censorship and internet shutdowns.
In the first presidential election round on May 14, Erdogan won 49.24% of the vote, shy of the 50% needed to win the election outright. Opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu won 45.07% of the votes, followed by nationalist Sinan Ogan who picked up 5.28% of the votes but has since thrown his weight behind incumbent Erdogan.
Twitter authorized on the eve of the election the restriction of specific user accounts in Turkey following the Turkish government’s request. The government also restricted the popular social media platform Eksi Sozluk.
