The Communal Democracy Party (TDP) has filed a complaint with the Supreme Election Council (YSK) over alleged irregularities at the National Unity Party's (UBP) congress to select parliamentary candidates. The allegations include missing votes, improper voting through a digital system and the failure to recount ballot boxes. TDP General Secretary Redif Ekinci said the party had submitted a written application, along with footage from a live broadcast of the congress. He urged the council to investigate the claims before candidate lists are finalised.
According to Ekinci, UBP members and aspiring candidates made serious allegations on 26 October 2026 during a live broadcast by Özgür Gazete from the congress hall. They claimed that the ballot boxes did not contain the number of votes announced and that between two and three thousand votes were missing. They also alleged that votes had been cast through the digital system on behalf of members who did not attend the congress. Despite 22 written objections, the ballot boxes had not been counted for three days, they said, and they held the UBP general secretary responsible for the process. One aspiring UBP candidate said a decision by the congress presidium on Saturday evening to hold a manual count had still not been implemented. The candidate added that the deadline for submitting lists to the YSK would expire the following day.
Ekinci acknowledged that a party's internal election is, in principle, its own affair. However, he stressed that this case concerns how the governing party selects its candidates for the general election on 6 December 2026. "A list submitted to the Supreme Election Council without the ballot boxes being opened and counted in front of everyone is a tainted list from the outset," he said. In his view, the matter has moved beyond an internal UBP issue and become a question of the fairness and credibility of the election.
The TDP also set out seven demands. It called for the UBP congress ballots to be counted without delay and in full view of the press, in line with the presidium's own decision. Neutral observers or independent bar association representatives should be present during the count, the party said. It also demanded that the logs and database of the digital infrastructure be audited by independent IT or cybersecurity experts. In addition, the party called on authorities to record the statements of UBP members who said on air that they would inform the police or file a criminal complaint with prosecutors.
The party further called for judicial authorities to investigate whether state resources or administrative powers had been misused to interfere in the vote. It also asked them to examine whether unlawful practices such as bribery had taken place. Among its demands, the TDP asked the YSK to suspend the finalisation of the UBP's candidate list until the allegations are clarified and a transparent count is completed.
Ekinci said political parties bear a public responsibility and that remaining silent or brushing aside such serious claims was unacceptable. "The Communal Democracy Party stands for a transparent, fair and accountable electoral environment. We will pursue this matter to the end before the Supreme Election Council and in the eyes of the public," he said.
