For millions abroad, the May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections of Türkiye came to an end on Tuesday. As polling stations were closed on the last day for overseas voters, voters will be able to cast votes until May 14 at polling stations at Türkiye's customs gates.
Official figures suggest more than 1.7 million people cast their votes overseas since April 27. More than 1.6 million people voted at polling stations set up in Türkiye's diplomatic missions abroad, while others voted at polling stations at customs gates and airports.
The first votes were cast by Turks who moved from poorer provinces to Western Europe over the decades under job schemes aimed at combating the continent's labor shortage in the wake of World War II. Such voters comprise 3.4 million of Türkiye's 64.1 million registered electorate and tend to support more conservative candidates.
In the 2018 elections, incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received 64% of the votes in Germany, 63% in France, 72% in the Netherlands, 74% in Belgium and 71% in Austria. Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has been pursuing an intense election campaign abroad to attract voters, with lawmakers organizing campaign events.
Once the overseas voting process is completed, ballots will be brought to Türkiye via diplomatic couriers and compatible methods by the YSK under maximum security measures to be kept safe in the capital Ankara. The boxes will be opened at 5 p.m. after voting closes in Türkiye, and counting will be undertaken under the supervision of the Directorate of Foreign Provincial Election Council. In the presidential election, votes cast overseas directly add to the total percentage of votes candidates garner in Türkiye. In the parliamentary election, overseas votes are distributed proportionately to constituencies countrywide according to the number of voters and the ballots parties receive in each province.
