“Our Conflicting Emotions: Unashamed yet Ashamed”
Anadolu Agency (AA) General Manager Serdar Karagöz has spoken about the agency’s election follow-up studies in a recent statement. Karagöz explained that 2,500 AA employees collect images of election results in the field and send them to the Election Tracking Center in the head office. Approximately 300 employees then digitize the images with an optical recognition system, and the results are delivered to subscribers after being checked. The election results are announced by the Supreme Election Board (YSK), and AA monitors the results on behalf of its subscribers. Karagöz noted that despite AA’s efforts, there has been a negative perception of the agency in Turkey.
Karagöz discussed the first ballot result minutes that reached AA, stating that results are counted earlier in provinces and later in big cities. AA received data from different cities as ballot boxes were opened, and they did not differentiate between the minutes. The first results received by AA came from Sakarya, Erzurum, and Tokat, due to the low number of voters.
Karagöz praised AA’s 2,500 employees, stating that he is proud of their dedication and hard work. He noted that a political campaign was launched against AA ahead of the elections, and this led to attacks on AA personnel working in the field.
Karagöz announced that AA will file a lawsuit against politicians who targeted its employees, adding that preventing AA officials from doing their duty is treason. He highlighted that all of Turkey sees that AA is doing its job properly, and any attempts to disrupt its work will not succeed.
