Two Saadet Party members were martyred in a shootout. The municipal elections are being held in Turkey today.
A debate started between two groups in the room where the ballot box was set soon turned into a fight, according to the sources. Hasan Aktaş and İlyas Aktaş were shot dead during the fight.
Security forces detained the person who fired the gun, it is reported.
Saadet Party Chair: They objected to open vote
Necdet Gökçınar, Felicity Party's (SP) metropolitan mayor candidate for İstanbul, has announced that the deceased people were the ballot box observers of the SP. Making a statement on his social media account, SP Chair Temel Karamollaoğlu has also said,
"As a result of an attack by the nephew of AKP [ruling Justice and Development Party] candidate in Pütürge, Malatya, one ballot box observer and one polling clerk of our party have lost their lives. This incident is not a simple dispute; there was an attempt to make people cast open votes and our observers objecting to this situation have been massacred."
One person who allegedly fired the shot has been taken into custody after the incident. Security forces have taken security measures around the school and in the neighborhood.
Saadet (Felicity) Party made a statement about the event, saying that the nephew of the AKP candidate in the district killed the two observers from the Saadet (Felicity) Party.
Thirteen political parties are taking part in the municipal elections. These include the Saadet (Felicity) Party (SP), the Independent Turkey Party (Bağımsız Türkiye Partisi), the Communist Party of Turkey (Türkiye Komünist Partisi), the Patriotic Party (Vatan Partisi), the Great Unity Party (Büyük Birlik Partisi), Free Cause Party (Hür Dava Partisi), Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi), Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi), Democratic Party (Demokrat Parti), Nationalist Movement Party (Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi), Iyi Party (İYİ Parti), Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halkların Demokratik Partisi) and Democratic Left Party (Demokratik Sol Parti).
Municipal elections are held every 5 years in Turkey.