Record number of expats voted for Türkiye’s elections: Deputy foreign minister

ISTANBUL (AA) – A record number of Turkish voters have cast their votes abroad for the country’s May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections, the country’s deputy foreign minister said on Tuesday.

“Compared to previous elections, we reached a record number of participation abroad,” said Yasin Ekrem Serim in a statement on Facebook.

Thanking all participants, Serim announced that the voting process has been completed in the ballot boxes opened in Türkiye’s embassies and representative offices abroad.

Noting that the votes cast abroad were brought to the country by taking security measures through diplomatic couriers, Serim said the voting will continue at customs gates until 5 p.m. local time on May 14.

Since overseas voting began on April 27, more than 1.79 million people – 1,798,505 – voted at Turkish diplomatic missions abroad and customs gates as of 6 p.m. local time on Tuesday, according to diplomatic sources. This corresponds to 52.6% of all voters abroad (3,416,150).

Turkish expats cast their votes in 151 representative offices and 16 centers in 73 countries. Turkish nationals living abroad can vote in the elections and referendums held in Türkiye, thanks to a legal amendment made in the legislation in 2012.

In Türkiye, the polls will take place on Sunday, May 14. On the presidential ballot, voters will choose between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is seeking reelection, main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Muharrem Ince, and Sinan Ogan.

Meanwhile, 24 political parties and 151 independent candidates are vying for seats in the 600-member Turkish parliament.

* Muhammet Tarhan in Ankara contributed to this story.