Is it a new population joke?

If the assumption that women live longer than men is correct, we perhaps must have a higher number of women in our society. Perhaps our men have evolved and are now living longer! Or, if we have a shortage of over a quarter of a million men in our society compared to the number of women we have, shall we assume that some families did not register their daughters? Well, don’t raise your eyebrows, is it not a reality of this country’s rural areas to totally ignore the existence of girls? Is it not a fact that in rural Turkey a father of, let’s say, five children, three girls and two boys, most often reply to the question "How many kids you have?" saying "Two." Or, is it not a fact that despite 85 years of state efforts as well as campaigns by civil society, there is still an incredible high rate of illiteracy among the women population of the country?

If, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, or TÜİK, report, some 75 percent of Turks were now living in cities, that means most Turkish cities, headed by Istanbul, have become big villages. That is rather than urbanization through migration, our high rate of migration from the rural to the urban has unfortunately turned cities to big villages. Thus, with cities turning to big villages, the traditions and the conservative world view of the rural Turkey started dominating the cities as well. While this element can best be seen in the advance of Islamist and conservative elements in the politics of the country, it is manifesting itself as well with the establishment of rural ghettos in the cities. Failure of the left to recognize and cater to the expectations of these rural ghettos in cities is perhaps one of the fundamental reasons behind the sad situation of Turkish left today while political groups established along community lines prospered and clinched to the administration of the country.

Electoral list comedy
At a time when in less than 18 months somehow the number of Turks eligible to vote was inflated, pardon increased by over 6 million compared to the electoral lists prepared for the July 22 polls while estimated population first readjusted in 2007 from 73 million to 70.5 million, the statement of the TÜİK, that according to electronic address-based population registration system the actual population of Turkey as of Dec. 31, 2008 was 71,517,100 one cannot stop but wonder whether we have some aliens registered as voters and that is why we have such a huge jump in the number of registered eligible voters.Total confusion, is it not? How it happens that from 2007 to 2009 we have 6 million new voters, but around 1 million increase in the overall population? Even if we assume as correct the estimations that some 1.5 million new voters were added to the eligible voter population, where did the remaining 4.5 million came? Besides, were not there any deaths in the country over the past year? Was the traffic monster on leave? Were not there any murders or natural deaths in the country in 2007 and 2008?

At least, figures prove we are not a rabbit nation
Latest figures demonstrate at least that indeed Turks are not a rabbit nation to multiply so fast in 18 months and increase by 6 million. Thus, these figures underline as well that there ought to be a mistake Ñ which indeed demonstrated also by widespread complaints of unknown people being registered at some empty lots or at addresses of some other people while many people are missing on the lists Ñ in this address-based registration system. Either the TÜİK personnel chose the easy way of fabrication or some people manipulated these records for some political aims. The more statistical data TÜİK releases on population, the more we are getting confused. This incompatibility in figures must be answered by TÜİK. This electronic address-based registration system needs to be verified by an independent research by a group of academics before we can indeed use it as a base in preparing electoral lists. Otherwise, elections that will be held with lists prepared by TÜİK based on these records will all be tainted or will all be susceptible to electoral fraud.