The active role of the Prime Ministry, Presidency for Overseas Turks and Relative Communities during the overseas voting in the November 1st elections led to much criticism in terms of the impartiality of the State. Objective criteria such as number of voters should be taken as a basis in determining the countries where polling stations are to be set up. Regulations should be made to improve the conditions to protect the overseas ballot boxes throughout the elections, 22 the conditions of transporting the ballot boxes to Turkey and allowing for shares to independent candidates when distributing the votes cast by overseas voters. The active role assumed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the overseas voting process requires for this Ministry to also be covered by Article 114 of the Constitution and for an independent Minister to be appointed in the election process. Voter Education According to international standards, states are responsible for ensuring that information about elections is prepared to enable illiterate voters or those with a different mother tongue to effectively exercise their right to vote. The target groups of the voter information material and public spots prepared by the SBE are voters who are literate in Turkish and have no visual or hearing impairments. In line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the State has the responsibility to deliver voter education to voters who are illiterate, have a hearing impairment and who have a different mother tongue. Voter education will also have the effect of reducing the number of invalid votes cast on election day. UN Human Rights Committee General Comment 25, Paragraph 12 “… Positive measures should be taken to overcome specific difficulties, such as illiteracy, language barriers, poverty, or impediments to freedom of movement which prevent persons entitled to vote from exercising their rights effectively. Information and materials about voting should be available in minority languages. Specific methods, such as photographs and symbols, should be adopted to ensure that illiterate voters have adequate information on which to base their choice…” Prior to the June 7th elections, two women voters applied to AMER, which is a member of the Platform, and asked for the voter education TV spots of the SBE to be broadcasted in Kurdish since they did not speak, read or write in Turkish. Legal support was provided to the applicants to enable them to apply to the SBE requesting a board decision enabling voter education in other languages. AMER applied to the Ombudsman and the National Human Rights Institute of Turkey asking for decisions attesting to the fact that the failure of the SBE to have prepared public information spots in other languages is a human rights violation. After the elections of June 7th, the National Human Rights Institution of Turkey decided that the current practice was a violation of the right to vote and be elected. Upon the application, the SBE adopted its Decision No 1040 dated 27/05/2015 stating that they do not deliver voter education in other languages but that the voting process would be explained to non-Turkish speakers and illiterate voters at the ballot box by means of an interpreter. This decision is important not only for 22 ww.haberler.com/turkiye-ye-gelen-oylarin-bulundugu-bolume-yetkisiz-7830992-haberi/, last access: 07/11/2015