In Turkey, on May 28, 61 million citizens will go to the polls to choose the next president of their country, through a second round, which is a precedent that happened for the first time in the history of Turkey.
The Turkish presidential elections in numbers
The number of Turks abroad is more than 6.5 million people, most of whom reside in European Union countries. More than 3.4 million of them are eligible to vote in the second ballot. The largest overseas elections take place in Germany, which has the largest gathering of the Turkish community abroad, which exceeds 3 million people, of whom around 1.5 million are eligible to vote in Turkish elections. . In the first round of presidential elections, more than 50% of those eligible to vote were overseas Turks, and according to Turkey’s Supreme Election Commission, 1,642,000 million and 721 voters voted at polling centers put in place by the Turkish representatives outside the country, and 120,640 people at the border posts From April 27 to May 9, during the elections abroad. Foreign elections are being held, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, in 73 countries around the world.
heated battle
If the current president and candidate of the Justice and Development Party and the People’s Alliance, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appears to have a better chance of winning in terms of the Turkish external vote, over his rival, the candidate of the Republican People’s Party and the Alliance of Nations, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, according to data from the first round and previous presidential elections.
However, observers do not exclude the occurrence of surprises, especially since the battle was fierce between the two candidates, which attaches great importance to each vote.
Express yourself and make a difference
On the importance of the votes of Turkish voters abroad in resolving the presidential race, Azad Ahmed, an analyst specializing in Turkish affairs, said in a statement to Sky News Arabia:
رغم أنها تمثل نسبة قليلة من مجموع الأصوات، لكن انتخابات أتراك الخا رج في هذه الجولة الثانية للغاية، حيث نتحدث عن منافسة شرسة لدرج ة أنه لأول مرة في تاريخ الجمهورية التركية لم تحسم الانتخابات الرئاس ية من الجولة الأولى، وهو ما يعكس ض راوة السباق نحو القصر الجمهوري الت ركي this time. It is true that Erdogan excelled in the first round in terms of external voices as well, but that does not prevent the changes that may occur in the compass of external voices, especially since within the Turkish communities, particularly in European countries, there is, for example, a good part of the Kurds, since their number is estimated at hundreds of thousands, over there, especially in Germany, who voted for the opposition candidate who is ahead of his rival Erdogan in most Kurdish states in the country. The Turkish president’s address to Turks abroad and urging them to participate massively, on the eve of their departure to vote in the second round, is a sign that he, as well as his rival, the opposition candidate, counts on him to make a difference and prioritize everyone’s fortune.
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