Turkish citizens casting their votes abroad for Nov 1 polls increased

BERLIN – Anadolu Agency

AA Photo

The number of Turkish citizens who cast their votes at Turkey’s missions abroad and at boarder gates for the Nov. 1 elections up until Oct. 25 increased by more than 230,000 people in comparison to the June 7 elections. 

Out of 2,899,000 voters who reside abroad and were eligible to vote for the Nov. 1 polls in Turkey’s 113 foreign missions in 54 countries and at border gates, around 1,264,000 of them cast their votes between Oct. 8 and 25. 

This marked an increase of 233,000 voters for the snap elections in comparison to the June 7 polls, during which around 1,031,000 Turkish citizens living abroad cast their votes. 

Thus, the turnout of Turkish citizens abroad was 43.7 percent, an increase from 35.9 percent during the June 7 elections. 

A total of 2,866,970 voters abroad were eligible to vote in the June 7 general elections, while this number increased to around 2,899,000 for the Nov. 1 polls. 

Voting at customs gates will continue until 5 p.m. on Nov. 1, while voting inside the country will only take place on Nov. 1 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. 

The Nov. 1 polls will take place nearly five months after an inconclusive election on June 7 saw no party win an overall majority to form a government alone.

Coalition talks between the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the three other parliamentary parties were unable to produce a result.

Twenty-seven political parties will participate in the November election, including the four parties in parliament, the AKP, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

Turkey is divided into 85 constituencies in 81 provinces for a total of 550 MPs. The election board has printed more than 75 million voting papers to be used at the Nov. 1 elections.