A task group has started the technical groundwork for the adoption of an electronic voting system in Türkiye this year.

Experts from the Supreme Election Council (YSK) are collaborating with the group formed by the Ankara University faculties of law, political sciences and engineering to prepare the necessary infrastructure.

The group is focusing on a software model by studying the electronic voting infrastructures of countries with similar populations to Türkiye, whose populace hit 85.3 million in 2023.

Online voting in Türkiye currently can only be used for voters abroad in line with existing regulations but the practice itself has so far never been implemented for Turkish citizens in the overseas voter registry.

There is no other legislation that allows electronic voting in local, general or presidential elections for citizens in Türkiye.

Likewise, some 64 million eligible voters, including some 3.4 million Turks abroad, cast their ballots by hand in last May’s presidential and parliamentary polls.

The YSK's task group will intensify its efforts on the shift after the local elections scheduled for March 31.

Once operational, the system will be first used in the elections of professional organizations, cooperatives and student representatives at universities.

It will be integrated into parliamentary, presidential and local elections after the project is completed and possible defects are fixed.

The issue was raised by YSK chief Ahmet Yener in June last year who argued for the benefits of such a shift, such as reducing the economic costs of the elections and easing the process for citizens.

The YSK and Ankara University have since been conducting preliminary studies, according to university president professor Necdet Ünüvar.

"Preliminary studies include electoral reliability, software and legal aspects, which are critical," Ünüvar told Anadolu Agency (AA).

Mathematics of voting

The task group consists of three primary parts, one of which is the technical subgroup working on election systems and mathematics, professor Orhan Çelik, Ankara University’s assistant director and dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences, informed.

The second subgroup is overseeing the legislative aspects of the system, scanning the regulations of countries that have implemented electronic voting and comparing them with Türkiye.

The third subgroup is dedicated to developing software for the system.

The groups have begun producing reports and documents under the project, which will gather pace after the March vote.

According to Çelik, using electronic voting in nationwide presidential, legislative and local elections is the ultimate target since the system will have a gradual rollout to discern its merits and defects first.

"Therefore, the process will be long but we’re currently at a stage where we can immediately start using the system in student representative elections at universities," he said.

"Ultimately, electronic voting will create key advantages in terms of time cost, security infrastructure, immediate results and total supervision during every phase of voting," Çelik said.

As for the legal foundations, Çelik said the YSK and Parliament would have to work together.

YSK authorities previously took steps in 2014 to establish online voting by visiting overseas bureaus with ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) officials but did not follow up further.

YSK head Yener last year said the program could be available by the next presidential and parliamentary elections in 2028. It would also likely work via e-Government, or e-Devlet in Turkish, Türkiye’s online portal for government services launched in 2008.

In countries like Estonia, which introduced the online voting system in 2005, more citizens opted to cast their ballot electronically than in-person as the practice proved a standout success compared to the limited success seen in Canada and Switzerland.

Casting a ballot electronically in Estonia can be done from a computer, with eligible voters using an ID card and card reader, as well as PIN codes for security. The system also allows voters to change their minds by voting on election day in person with a physical paper ballot that cancels out the previous online vote.

Estonia’s population is estimated at just 1.3 million people.

Türkiye’s population is expected to reach 88.4 million by 2030, with 93% living in urban centers and only 7% living in towns and villages.

The country’s biggest city Istanbul alone is home to a remarkable 15.6 million people as of 2024.