By Zehra Aydin

ANKARA

Anadolu Agency covered the presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey in real time and broke accurate news to its 2,250 subscribers all over the world in 13 languages.

Software and systems were prepared ahead of the elections to deliver news as it happened.

Also, virtual tests were conducted prior to Election Day for television channels and websites that publish results.

Dummy results were sent to subscribers to check if the systems were working. 

Election Day

Anadolu Agency published results to subscribers after the election broadcast ban was lifted by the Supreme Election Council (YSK).

The results were published in Turkish, English, Arabic, BHS (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian), Russian, Kurmanji, Sorani, Farsi, French, Albanian, Macedonian, Indonesian and Spanish languages.

International media which followed the elections also used Anadolu Agency as source.

Anadolu Agency teams worked in 81 provinces and continued its tradition of accurate and efficient coverage since 2014.

News was provided to 150 local and international media organisations who had subscribed to Anadolu Agency Election Data package.

Anadolu Agency prepared a comprehensive package consisting of election data from polling stations, a special interface for TV screens, an online map interface for websites, and a candidate database.

The results were also announced at "secim.aa.com.tr" with the help of maps and graphics.

The agency also prepared "candidate database", which also enabled its subscribers to access background information on the deputies.  

Strong infrastructure prevents cyber attacks

On the day of election, Anadolu Agency was also exposed to one of its biggest cyber attacks in recent years.

"These attacks have increased especially after the announcement of the test data sent to the agency's subscribers a few days before the election," Anadolu Agency’s Information and Communication Technologies Director Yakup Sivka said.

He added that these attacks continued to increase after unfair accusations were hurled by some politicians on Election Day.

"Thanks to the measures taken and the modern infrastructure, Anadolu Agency's election systems and other applications continued to work without any interruption. The results were instantly shared with subscribers," he added.

The YSK also approved the accurate use of its data by Anadolu Agency, refuting allegations of "manipulation".