Brawl in Turkish parliament after MPs vote to revamp electoral regulations

Turkey’s parliament passed a law revamping electoral regulations on Tuesday, which the opposition said could open the door to fraud and jeopardize the fairness of the 2019 polls. The passage of the law grants Turkey’s High Electoral Board the authority to merge electoral districts and move ballot boxes to other districts. Security force members will be allowed into polling stations when invited by a voter, a measure the government says is designed to prevent intimidation by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the mainly Kurdish southeast. After the result was announced, a brawl erupted between nationalist lawmakers and those from the main opposition, Reuters reported. The changes to electoral laws would also allow the ruling party to enter a formal alliance with the nationalist party, permitting the smaller party to gain parliamentary seats, even if it fails to pass the 10-percent electoral threshold.