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Turkish civic society mobilizes against election fraud

Turkish civic groups such as Vote and Beyond prepare for stringent monitoring of the June 7 elections, given that even minuscule vote-rigging could have a huge impact on the country’s future.
A supporter of pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) stands on an election campaign minibus with a picture of the party's co-chair Selahattin Demirtas on it, in Istanbul, Turkey, May 28, 2015. Turkey's Pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) said on Wednesday June elections would lack legitimacy if a threshold for parliamentary representation deprived it of representation, but it would remain a partner in peace talks with militants. The fate of the HDP, which hopes to cross the 10 percent national
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As Turkey’s June 7 general elections draw near, the fate of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hinges on whether the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), an offshoot of the Kurdish movement, will overcome the 10% national vote threshold to enter parliament.

The outcome of the HDP struggle with the world’s highest threshold lies at the heart of all scenarios for the AKP, both positive and negative. One of the best scenarios for the ruling party is to clinch a three-fifths parliamentary majority, or at least 330 of the 550 seats, which would allow it to rewrite the constitution unilaterally in line with Erdogan’s ambitions for an authoritarian executive presidency and take the draft to a referendum.

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