A political party in Bulgaria is expecting a high turnout from dual citizens in Türkiye in the country’s general elections this June, which could be vital in ensuring the protection of their rights and property in Bulgaria.
“Over 63,000 people had voted in the last election. We expect at least 100,000 Turkish Bulgarian citizens to turn out on June 9,” Güner Çetin, the Thrace representative of the Bulgarian centrist Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS - HÖH) said Tuesday.
Bulgarians are going to the polls on June 9 for two elections – early National Assembly elections and regular European Parliament elections. It will be the country’s sixth national election in almost three years.
HÖH, which represents ethnic minorities in Bulgaria and is largely led by Turks, won 36 seats in parliament in the 2023 legislative elections, clinching 13% support and ranking fourth.
Bulgaria is home to a 700,000-strong Muslim minority, most of them ethnic Turks, while at least 200,000 ethnic Turks with Bulgarian passports live in Türkiye. The two groups make up more than 10% of the population.
However, an assimilation policy adopted in the Balkan country by the communist regime in the 1980s forced hundreds of thousands of Turks into an exodus toward Türkiye to preserve their names and ethnic identity, reducing the minority's numbers in Bulgaria.
Their votes hold critical sway in order to end the political uncertainty in the country but they view their representation in the Balkan country’s politics as insufficient.
Çetin called on these Turks to go to polls on June 9 at a meeting in Türkiye’s northwestern Tekirdağ province bordering Bulgaria.
“We are holding our seventh election in the last three years,” he said as he met with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). “We have 166 ballot boxes in Türkiye, including 32 in four Thracian provinces. Twenty of these will serve in Tekirdağ where most of our dual-passport citizens live.”
Turks with Bulgarian passports have a duty to vote, Çetin argued. “I am inviting them to exercise their democratic right and support our party.”
He believes it’s paramount that younger citizens vote to protect their citizenship and properties, and support fellow Turks in Bulgaria.
“If 100,000 people vote here, it would mean at least 40 lawmakers, which would be very good for HÖH,” Çetin said. “HÖH must become a partner to the ruling party. That way, we could always protect our rights.”
