Prior to the elections, a petition was filed with the SBE asking the right to vote of women in shelter homes. The SBE’s response was ‘’There are no activities regarding the right to vote of women staying at shelter homes and women’s guest houses. Such persons will exercise their right at the address where they are registered’. 17 There is no data regarding the literacy status or knowledge of Turkish of voters registered in the voter registry system. 18 However, according to data published by the Turkish Statistics Authority, as of the end of 2014, 2,656,963 people aged 18 and above are illiterate. Of this number, 2,203,585 are women. There is also lack of accurate data with respect to disabled voters. The percentage of the population with disabilities makes one question the validity of the number of disabled voters announced by the SBE. Indeed, in response to a petition for information filed with the SBE regarding the number of disabled voters living abroad as well as their gender distribution, the SBE replied ‘there is no data concerning the disabled voters registered in the overseas voter registry since no appointments can be made for overseas ballot boxes’.19 This answer shows that access to polling stations by disabled and elderly voters living abroad is not a subject given due consideration. There is lack of a standard practice in terms of mentally disabled persons registered in voter registries.20 Overseas Voting Granting the right to vote to overseas voters is a positive step forward. In order for overseas voters to be able to use their right to vote in an effective manner, plans should be made to increase the number of countries where polling stations are set up and for polling stations to be available in more than one centre in a country. For those overseas voters who are disabled, old, illiterate or who do not speak Turkish, voter education should be conducted using different means. The physical characteristics of the centres where polling stations are to be set up should be determined according to voter profiles. For the November 1st elections, the SBE decided to set up ballot boxes in 113 representations across 54 countries, 6 Motorway Border Gates, 17 Airport Customs Gates and 7 Seaport Customs Gates. According to the data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Iraq is the fifth most populated country with respect to Turkish citizens living abroad. Failure to set up a polling station in Iraq where there are four consulate generals, and disallowing the casting of votes at any customs gate to Iraq during the November 1st elections amounts to discrimination against voters residing in this country.21 17 See Annex II: Petitions Filed under the Law on Right to Information In response to a petition for information filed on the subject, the SBE stated: ‘No information is kept regarding the illiterate or non-Turkish speaking voters in the country or overseas’. See Annex II: Petitions Filed under the Law on Right to Information 19 See Annex II: Petitions Filed under the Law on Right to Information 20 In practice, there are mentally disabled individuals who are included in the voter registry despite the fact that they have a legal guardian. Similarly, there are mentally disabled individuals who are not registered as voters although no legal guardian has been appointed. 21 For consulates and customs points where ballot boxes will be set up see: http://www.ysk.gov.tr/ysk/content/conn/YSKUCM/path/Contribution%20Folders/SecmenIslemleri/Secimler/2 015MVES-GumrukKapilari.pdf http://www.ysk.gov.tr/ysk/content/conn/YSKUCM/path/Contribution%20Folders/SecmenIslemleri/Secimler/2 015MVES-Temsilcilikler.pdf 18