Some 3,461 ballot boxes will be set up abroad for the second round of Türkiye’s presidential elections, Deputy Foreign Minister Yasin Ekrem Serim said Thursday.
Speaking to Turkish reporters in Paris, Serim said that he and a delegation from the Supreme Election Council (YSK) were overseeing preparations for the May 28 elections.
“Through our foreign representatives, we provide all kinds of support to our citizens abroad so that they can fulfill their democratic duties,” Serim said, indicating that 402 ballot boxes were prepared for the Turkish diaspora in France alone.
The ballots abroad will be brought to Türkiye via diplomatic couriers and methods determined by the YSK under maximum security measures to be kept safe in the capital Ankara.
He highlighted that the first round of the elections was held in an orderly manner, except for a few incidents.
Serim referred to the incident in which Turks living in France who went to the polls in the port city of Marseille were attacked by PKK terrorist group supporters, resulting in injuries.
Security forces used tear gas to put an end to the assault and arrested the attackers.
Serim pointed out that security measures have been upped at polling stations.
In the first round, 5,114 ballot boxes were set up in 167 points in 73 countries.
Serim indicated that the participation rate increased this year compared to the 2018 presidential and parliamentary elections.
Giving the example of France, he said that 197,634 people voted in the first round with a turnout of 49.77%, a rise from 46.38% in 2018.
Over 1.8 million Turkish voters cast their votes abroad in the country's May 14 elections.
Millions of voters voted on May 14 to elect the country's president and members of its 600-seat Parliament.
Erdoğan's People's Alliance won a majority in Parliament, while the presidential race is headed to a second-round runoff on May 28, though Erdoğan took the lead in round one.
The president and his closest competitor Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and joint candidate for the six-party opposition Nation's Alliance, will face off in round two.
Voting in the runoff will begin on May 20 and will continue until May 24 at polling stations set up at Turkish diplomatic missions. Voters will be able to vote at customs gates, in venues like airports, until 5 p.m. on May 28, the same time when polls will close in Türkiye.
Ballots cast abroad will be brought to Türkiye under strict security measures and like in the first round, with the assistance of diplomatic couriers.
In the first round of elections, officials representing each party competing in the election were present during the transportation of the votes from abroad, facilitated through Turkish Airlines (THY) aircraft exclusively allocated for vote transportation.
The votes will be stored in the spacious ATO Congresium Fair Center in the capital Ankara, under the supervision of the YSK. The ballots will be counted on May 28 when the domestically cast votes are tallied around Türkiye.
