Esmeray Özadikti, the trans activist and actress who is an MP candidate for TİP in İstanbul, gave an interview to Lara Özlen for Velvele. Özadikti said that TİP is not only working to increase the visibility for LGBTQI+ people, but they are also working towards more political participation.
SPoD’s “LGBTI+ Rights Protocol” received more signatures from MP candidates. Here is a breakdown of the MP candidates who signed the petition according to their party affiliations: 13 from the Yeşil Sol Party, 15 from the TİP, and 1 from the CHP.
The Minister of Justice, Bekir Bozdağ, spread hate speech against LGBTQI+ people in his campaign speech. Bozdağ is an MP candidate of the AKP from Urfa.
The CHP’s Youth Organization released “Sadece Biz,” a song about the future of Turkey after the elections, and they featured two queer icons, Zeki Müren and Huysuz Virjin. Both icons are dead, but their legacy lives on.
The campaigns’ media coverage is not fair, especially in the mainstream media. Turkish State TV channels broadcast 32 hours of Erdoğan campaign in the last month, while the opposition’s candidate Kılıçdaroğlu was only given 32 minutes air time in the same time frame.
The CHP’s campaign tent in Ortaköy, İstanbul was burnt to the ground because of an attack.
May 4 onwards, it is illegal to release opinion polling results, election forecasts, and mini questionnaires.
More than 1.5 Million people voted in the Diaspora according to the Supreme Council of Elections. Diaspora voters can vote at any voting station abroad regardless of which station they were assigned in their voter registration.
Velvele Reports: Elections in Turkey #7
