As Turkish citizens have just less than two weeks left until they can cast their votes in the upcoming snap election, voter turnout for Turkish citizens living abroad has risen gradually over the past week.Turkish citizens living abroad formed long lines over the weekend to cast their votes, indicating that there will be a high voter turnout across all of Europe. During the first week of voting abroad only 150,000 of the 2,866,979 Turkish citizens abroad who are eligible to vote cast their ballots.Speaking on the subject, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Foreign Affairs Vice Chairman Metin Külünk, who was in the Swedish capital Stockholm on Sunday, was encouraged by the current turnout rate. Citing that some 1.04 million people voted abroad for the June 7 elections, Külünk seemed confident that there would ultimately be a higher turnout rate for the Nov. 1 snap elections.Külünk blamed the long distances many Turkish citizens living abroad have to travel to reach polling locations for the low turnout rate and theorized that if voting stations were placed inside mosques then "80 percent of voters abroad would be able to cast their votes." He also added that 1.5 million Turkish expats are expected to vote in the upcoming election. Speaking to Daily Sabah about the claims of whether voting turnout has proven to be less than in the June 7 elections, Asiye Bilgin, the Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) deputy representative in Brussels, said there is a 5 percent rise in turnout these elections. Bilgin also added that data compiled after the first 11 days of voting has given positive signals.Emphasizing that voting abroad is not as easy as it is assumed in Turkey, Bilgin said: "Our citizens drive hundreds of kilometers and wait in long queues for hours to cast their votes. Claiming that citizens living abroad show little interest in elections is unjust." Bilgin further added that ballot boxes should be brought to citizens rather than the other way around to make it easier for them to vote.