Voting starts for more than 90,000 Turkish citizens in US for Nov 1 snap elections

NEW YORK – Doğan News Agency

AA Photo

The polls opened for more than 90,000 Turkish citizens living in the United States on Oct. 17 for the snap Turkish parliamentary elections on Nov. 1, and will last until Oct. 25. 

Ballot boxes at seven Turkish representatives across the U.S. were set up on Oct. 17 for some 91,304 Turkish electorates living in the U.S. to cast their votes for the upcoming elections. 

Turkish voters have begun to vote at Turkey’s representatives in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Boston and Miami.

Electorates can cast their votes at the ballot boxes from Oct. 17 to Oct. 25, every day between 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. No appointments need to be made beforehand. 

Turkey’s Consul General to New York, Ertan Yalçın, said the largest number of voters in the U.S. was in New York with a total of 35,690 people. 

Voting for the snap elections had started at Turkey’s representatives in foreign countries and at border gates across the country on Oct. 8. 

A total of 2,895,885 Turkish citizens living abroad are eligible to vote either at 112 foreign representative offices in 54 countries or at 30 customs gates on Turkey’s borders and at international airports.

While the last day to vote at the foreign representatives will be on Oct. 25, the deadline to vote at Turkey’s borders and international airports is 5:00 p.m. on Nov. 1. 

Meanwhile, some Turkish citizens living in the Netherlands and Germany have reacted to an election campaign letter signed by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, which was sent to their home addresses only two weeks before the Nov. 1 elections, Cihan News Agency reported.  

Davut S., who resides in the city of Zaandam in the Netherlands and wanted to remain anonymous, said he was shocked to see the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) election campaign letter, which promotes the AKP’s promises, particularly for Turkish citizens living abroad, was sent directly to his address. 

“With the advantage of being in the government, the AKP is obtaining the private information of the [Turkish] citizens [living abroad] with the help of some of the institutions in the Netherlands. Running a campaign with such unfair competition in Europe is both illegal and unethical,” said Davut S.

He said he was not a member of the AKP and thus had asked the consulate officials about how the AKP had obtained his private information. He said the officials had said they had not shared his information but he was not convinced.