Ankara Protests Against Electoral Corruption

Ankara, Turkey - On March 30th, Turkey entered into its municipal elections. While the current Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, and his ruling party, AKP, is set to maintain power across Turkey, there has been strong opposition against AKP for electoral corruption.

Protesters stand their ground against police water cannons

On the day of the election, the key cities of Istanbul, and Ankara, which had less than a 1% vote gap, suddenly faced electrical problems, making it so votes could not be counted. Government officials have cited that this electrical problem was due to a stray cat disrupting the transformer. The half-hearted reason for a cat disrupting an extremely close, and important election is already doubtable, but now AKP has claimed an electoral victory, and cut off citizen's ability to track the vote counting online, claiming it necessary for national security.

Since Sunday's elections, AKP opposition groups are personally taking part in the recounting of votes, and have noticing a numerical difference compared to what AKP reported when claiming their victory. Supporters of CHP, Turkey's oldest political party established by Ataturk, are gathering in the streets outside of Ankara's election authority building, protesting against electoral fraud.

CHP supporters protest against electoral corruption in front of the ballot office 

Prime Minister Erdogan, and Ankara's AKP ruling mayor for 20 years, Melih Gökçek, states that there will be no patience for protesters to dispute the elections, and dispatched Ankara's riot police to disband the demonstrators by using water cannons, and tear gas.

As water trucks, and riot police approach the protesters, the crowd begins to chant slogans, sing the national anthem, say homophobic remarks about AKP politicians, and wave to the line of police shouting, "Come! Come! Come!"

Parents bring their children to expose them to political movements early on 

After some time, the police did just that. Charging down the street towards the crowd, protesters break off into smaller groups, taking side streets which begin a block by block skirmish while trying to avoid being hit by the water cannons from the trucks driving up, and down the streets.

"Our government, and our Prime Minister stole our election" Ahmet Gezer, a CHP protester told me. "Mussolini, Franco, Bush, Erdogan, they are all the same. They are fascists who only want war. The only reason a government attacks its own people during a peaceful protest is because they know they have cheated us, and are afraid of the power of their own people."

Whistles are commonly used to keep up the protester's spirits

Opposition protesters return after a water cannon attack

It is difficult to speculate what will happen in the coming days for Turkey's political parties. Even now, there is growing dissent amongst CHP's opposition members. As of last night, a call was put out online for the youth, and young adults in support of CHP to occupy their own facilities in attempts to throw out some of their leading politicians, who many young adults feel are not doing enough to challenge the corruption of this election.

Hand signs of the 'Grey Wolf'- an age old Turkish symbol of civil protest & power

Singing Turkey's national anthem