The organization Democracy in Action (DnV) reported that the local elections held on October 12 were conducted in a calm and democratic atmosphere.
According to DnV, while voter turnout was satisfactory, the process included some notable irregularities. One of the main issues observed was the high occurrence of assisted voting, especially among women and young voters, often by relatives or other individuals. In many cases, this assistance was not recorded in the official voting book.
DnV also pointed out that changes in polling centers by the CEC caused serious confusion, leaving a considerable number of citizens unable to vote because their names were missing from the voters’ list. The lack of help desks in several polling stations further worsened the situation.
Observers additionally reported the presence of campaign materials — such as posters and leaflets — within the 100-meter perimeter of polling stations, as well as instances of organized group voting in some municipalities.
DnV urged election officials to handle the vote-counting process with the same diligence as the voting itself, and called on political parties to await official results calmly and act with civic and political responsibility.
