Turkish expats in Europe start voting in presidential, parliamentary polls

By Nur Asena Erturk and Busra Nur Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) - At polling places across Europe, Turkish expatriates are starting to cast ballots Thursday for the country’s upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.

Turkish nationals abroad are casting their votes in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, and Luxembourg for the elections, where domestic balloting will take place on Sunday, May 14. (A second-round presidential vote may follow two weeks later if needed.)

On their ballots, voters will choose between four presidential hopefuls, in the following order: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (seeking reelection), Muharrem Ince, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and Sinan Ogan. In addition, 24 political parties and 151 independent candidates are vying for all 600 seats in the Turkish parliament.

At customs gates, voting will end on May 14, while at most foreign polling places, it will end on May 9, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Some 3.41 million people are expected to cast their votes abroad, including nearly 278,000 young first-time voters.

Germany has the highest number of Turkish voters with 1.5 million, while France has over 397,000 voters and the Netherlands nearly 287,000, according to official figures.