Voting ends in overseas representations

ANKARA

Voting ended at the diplomatic missions abroad on May 24 for the presidential election runoff, slated for May 28 at home, while citizens abroad can still cast their votes at border gates.

The Supreme Election Council (YSK) has reinstalled ballot boxes at 167 points in 151 representative offices across 73 countries for the runoff election.

Over 1.76 million expatriates cast their votes at representations and customs till early May 24, four days after the voting process started abroad.

Though the voting period has been reduced from 12 days to five days due to the Election Board’s tight calendar, overseas votes are expected to approach 2 million.

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.

Citizens abroad cast their votes without booking an appointment at designated election bureaus, while they can still head to the polls at border gates until May 28, when the runoff will be held at home.

Germany, housing the most significant Turkish diaspora, also has the highest number of voters, with more than 1.5 million people eligible to vote, the YSK revealed earlier. It is followed by France and the Netherlands, where 397,086 and 286,753 voters live, respectively.

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

After the voting process abroad ends completely, 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.