Overseas voters head to polls for 2nd round

ANKARA

Voting for the second round of the presidential election slated for May 28 at home began for Turkish citizens living abroad on May 20 at the foreign representative offices and customs gates.

The Supreme Election Council (YSK) installed ballot boxes at 167 points in Türkiye’s 151 representatives in 73 countries.

The election board’s schedule specifies the period when expatriates would be able to cast their ballots at designated offices between May 20 and 24, while the voting process at customs will end on May 28, when the runoff will begin at home.

Turks abroad are able to cast their votes from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in representative offices and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in cities affiliated with the consulate generals.

Citizens are able to cast their ballots without needing to book an appointment at any of the representative offices or at any customs gate with a ballot box.

After the voting process abroad completes, the votes will be brought to Türkiye by “diplomatic couriers” under high security and will be stored in a safe area at the ATO Congresium exhibition center in the capital Ankara, the board says. The overseas ballot boxes will be opened together with the others at home late on May 28.

Overseas votes could prove decisive as they could contribute up to half a percentage point in the presidential polls and potentially sway the results.

More than 1.8 million citizens cast their votes at Türkiye’s overseas representations and customs in the first round, which indicates a participation rate of 52.6 percent.