Expat Turks likely to be influential in June elections with 1 million votes

Full-scale election campaigns are underway in Turkey as the general elections draw near. The June 7 elections are being closely monitored abroad as well with a considerable number of Turkish expats expected to go to the polls. Voting abroad is expected to play a critical role in the upcoming elections and will likely have an impact on the results. Turkish voters abroad are estimated to comprise 1 million votes in the upcoming elections, and expat Turks have already been gripped by voting fever as they began voting earlier on May 8.

According to sources, out of 2.8 million voters abroad, so far 393,000 have cast their ballot. Sources say that 30,000 go to the polls on average every day and 100,000 voted over the weekend. Intense voting took place over the past week in Germany with the country hosting a large Turkish community.

The Turkish expat vote is deemed critical as it has the potential to change the Constitution and bring about the aspiration of the ruling party to switch to a presidential system, or assist the Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) ability to surpass the 10 percent election threshold and pave the path for their entrance into Parliament. Aware of the potential of the votes, Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli and HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş kicked off their election campaigns by holding their first rallies in Germany. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu also paid a visit to the country on May 3, addressing Turkish citizens in Dortmund and asking for their support. The party leaders seek to garner votes from Turkish citizens living abroad by offering them a chance to choose their representatives.

Turks living abroad are able to cast their ballot four weeks before the June 7 election at consulates and embassies in many countries.

Ballot boxes have been placed at customs offices at the Turkish border points of Sarp, Kapıkule, Pazarkule, Ipsala, Hamzabeyli, Dilucu and Dereköy; Şakirpaşa, Esenboğa, Antalya, Eskişehir, Elazığ, Gaziantep, Hatay, Istanbul Atatürk, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, Adnan Menderes, Erkilet, Konya Military, Dalaman, Bodrum-Milas, Samsun, Trabzon and Zonguldak airports and Kuşadası, Ayvalık, Çeşme, Derince, Mersin, Taşucu, Marmaris, Bodrum and Samsun port gates.

The Supreme Election Board announced earlier that 112 polling stations would be opened in 54 countries to serve the almost 3 million Turkish nationals living abroad.

According to the Foreign Ministry, more than 5 million Turks live abroad, including around 4 million in Western Europe, 300,000 in North America, 200,000 in the Middle East and 150,000 in Australia.

Those eligible are able to vote at 112 polling stations in 54 countries between May 8 and May 31, while polling stations for Turkish expats are open at border posts and airports until June 7.

Turks in Germany, who were able to vote for the presidential elections in August, will be able to vote in a general election for the first time. Previously they had to travel to Turkish border gates to cast their ballot.

Meanwhile, a recently conducted survey by the Germany-based Turkish-German Foundation found that of the Turks living in Germany, a little over half of those surveyed support the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the upcoming elections. The survey, which was conducted with 1,410 participants from eight different cities in Germany, found that 53 percent of those surveyed would vote for the AK Party in the June 7 general elections. The CHP had 17 percent support, the HDP 14 percent and the MHP 13 percent out of 1,410 participants. The remaining 3 percent, according to the survey, indicated that they would vote for other parties.