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Turkish citizens abroad start voting in election

Turkish citizens abroad began voting on Thursday in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections, which represent the biggest electoral challenge for President Tayyip Erdogan, who lags in opinion polls, in two decades in power. Germany is home to the world’s largest Turkish diaspora and some 1.5 million Turkish citizens there, who in the past have shown strong support for Erdogan and his conservative AK party (AKP), are eligible to vote ahead of the elections on May 14 in Turkey. Te Associated Press has the story:

Turkish citizens abroad start voting in election

Newslooks- BERLIN (AP)

Some 3.4 million Turkish citizens living abroad began voting Thursday in national elections that will decide whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can continue governing Turkey after two decades in power.

The overseas balloting began amid concerns over Erdogan’s health after he was forced to cancel election rallies on Wednesday and Thursday. However, the 69-year-old leader was scheduled to attend a Thursday ceremony via video link to mark the inauguration of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant.

FILE – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives for a ceremony, in Ankara, Turkey, on May 16, 2022. Even by the standards of Turkey’s and Greece’s frequently strained relations, it was a remarkable escalation. Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan directly threatened his country’s western neighbor: Unless the Greeks “stay calm,” he said, Turkey’s new ballistic missiles would hit their capital city. The striking rhetoric has led many to question the reasons behind it, and whether it could be a harbinger of even more alarming developments, including potential armed conflict between the two neighbors, both NATO members. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)

Turkey’s health minister said Erdogan’s condition was improving.

“I was with him this morning. His health is fine,” Fahrettin Koca, a physician by training, said Thursday. “The effect of his gastrointestinal infection has decreased. He will continue his schedule.”

A Turkish citizen holds her passport as she queues to vote, outside the Turkish consulate, Thursday, April 27, 2023 Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris. The voting for the upcoming Turkish election begins on Thursday, with Turkish overseas citizens being the first ones allowed to cast their ballots at embassies and consulates. Turkey votes on Sunday in presidential and parliamentary elections that could extend the increasingly authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-decades in power or tilt the country toward what his opponents promise to a more democratic one. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

The biggest contingents of overseas voters include 400,000 Turks in France and 1.5 million in Germany who can cast their ballots in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections until May 9. Voting in Turkey itself doesn’t take place until May 14.

The latest opinion polls in Turkey showed a slight lead for Erdogan’s main challenger, center-left opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who is backed by the cross-party Nation Alliance.

Turkish citizens living in Germany leave a polling station at the Turkish consulate after they cast their vote for Turkish the parliament and president election in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, April 27, 2023. Millions of Turkish citizens living abroad have began voting in national elections that will decide whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can govern Turkey for another term. Among the biggest contingent of overseas voters are 1.5 million Turks in Germany, who can cast their votes in presidential and parliamentary elections at 16 polling sites across the country until May 9. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Erdogan served as Turkey’s prime minister from March 2003 to August 2014 and has held the president’s office since then. He has been criticised for his increasingly authoritarian rule and handling of the economy and rampant inflation in recent years, as well as of the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey in February.

In Berlin, voter Fatma, who declined to provide her surname, said she backed the current president.

“Erdogan is strong. We are behind him,” she said.

Mehmet Ali Yigit, who has been living in Germany for more than 50 years, shows his German passport and Turkish ID after he voted at the Gruga Hall in Essen, Germany, Thursday, April 27, 2023. Millions of Turkish citizens living abroad have began voting in national elections that will decide whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can govern Turkey for another term. Among the biggest contingent of overseas voters are 1.5 million Turks in Germany, who can cast their votes in presidential and parliamentary elections at 16 polling sites across the country until May 9. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Her comments were echoed by 39-year-old Ozlem Dinc in Paris, who expressed full support for Erdogan. “We hope from the bottom of our hearts that he will come to power again and that he will conquer the whole world,” she said.

Others were critical of the long-time president and the changes he has made to Turkey’s political system.

“We have to change the president first and then the system,” said voter Sema Jude in Paris. “The presidential system in Turkey is not democratic and it is like a dictatorship.”

Turkish people arrive for voting at the Gruga Hall in Essen, Germany, Thursday, April 27, 2023. Millions of Turkish citizens living abroad have began voting in national elections that will decide whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can govern Turkey for another term. Among the biggest contingent of overseas voters are 1.5 million Turks in Germany, who can cast their votes in presidential and parliamentary elections at 16 polling sites across the country until May 9. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Cinar Negatir agreed, though for other reasons. “Yes for a change of president, because economy is at 0%,” he said. “That’s why we vote to change the president.”

Up to 300 people lined up outside the Turkish General Consulate in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt waiting to vote. The atmosphere was calm with supporters of the president and of the opposition discussing their views in line.

If no candidate wins outright and a presidential run-off is needed on May 28, overseas balloting would take place May 20-24.

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