Practices casting doubts on election security have began with less than 40 days left before the upcoming referendum. Many ballot boxes in Kurdish towns have been moved to 'more central' locations before the April 16 referendum, just like they had been relocated in the last 2 elections. The decisions are seen as an important obstacle for the voters, and were taken after the request of gendarme commands and police headquarters in the Kurdish region. Accordingly, applications have been made to provincial and district election boards in Iğdır city center, Bitlis' Tatvan district, Muş's Bulanık district, Batman's Kozluk and Sason districts, Siirt's Kurtalan district, Mardin's Derik, Savur and Mazıdağı districts, Şırnak's İdil and Beytüşşebap districts, Hakkari's Şemdinli district and Ağrı's Patnos district in order to move and combine the ballot boxes in many villages.

Despite reactions towards the instruction for the relocation and combination of ballot boxes in several Kurdish towns and villages -a method applied by the state as an effort to obstruct the voting of locals who do not support the AKP- Bitlis Provincial Election Board has decided to relocate ballot boxes in 10 villages to the villages held by village guards working and collaborating with the Turkish state and army in their activities and operations against the PKK.

The provincial election board argued this measure was taken “for security reasons” due to the lack of public buildings in these villages to set up ballot boxes, low number of electors, residence of the majority of electors in province and district centers, and difficulties in transportation in these villages.

The decision was made despite the fact that elections have been held without any problems in these villages since 1950.