By Baris Gundogan
ANKARA
With polls set for just 10 days away, the election campaigns of political parties for Turkey's presidential and parliamentary elections on June 24 have turned into a democracy festival throughout the country.
This April, Turkey’s parliament passed a bill for early elections on June 24, in order to cement Turkey’s move to a presidential system.
While the six presidential candidates have held rallies in multiple cities on the same day, political party officials and parliamentary candidates are meeting with people at campaign stands in public squares in towns and cities nationwide.
People are seeing the campaign’s peaceful and democratic campaigns in these stands set up next to each other.
In Ankara's central Kizilay square, stands can be seen from the Felicity (Saadet) Party, the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, Free Cause (Huda-Par) Party, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and newly formed Good (IYI) Party.
At the stands, party activists tell people about their campaign platforms and hand out brochures.
In streets throughout Turkey, specially decorated political party vans drive through neighborhoods playing the parties’ campaign songs.
As the campaign season coincides with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and its subsequent holiday, Eid al-Fitr, parliamentary candidates are using iftar (fast-breaking) meals to mix and meet with the voters.
Some women candidates are organizing home visits to speak to voters.
In the northwestern Yalova province, people are visiting the election stands of the political parties in the public square.
In another northwestern province, Bolu, political parties have hung their flags and set up election stands in the city square.
Social media offers an ever-expanding space for campaigning.
Political parties are taking advantage of these popular platforms to promote their positions and woo voters.
Presidential and parliamentary candidates have broadcast and posted their campaign speeches so as to be able to reach more people.
More than 59 million citizens will be able to vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections.
