JINHA

WAN/AMED – As voters in Turkey headed to the polls for a historic election with polls opening at 8:00 a.m. this morning, reports have already come in of rights violations at the polls.

In the province of Muş, the village guards (the paramilitary organization set up across the Kurdish region) have "mass voted" for the AKP. The tension is ongoing at the Hürriyet Primary School, located in the largely Arab town of Sungu. There has been no attempt to stop the mass voting. Meanwhile, lawyers and journalists trying to record events in the town have been blocked from recording the event. Soldiers are waiting at the door. Meanwhile, the relatives of AKP candidate of Abdulselam Er are posted at the door to block those trying to observe the polls.

In Diyarbakır, voters have been out since the early morning to head to their polling stations. Voters have reported seeing a stenciled message at the doors to the schools that are serving as polling stations. The message urges readers not to vote, reading, "all sovereignty belongs to God" and denouncing "polytheism." The message has been reported at the Yunus Emre Primary School in the city center's Bağlar district, as well as in the districts of Lice, Hani and Dicle.

(ekip/fk/cm)