Turkish community in Germany push for high turnout amid far-right discourse
BERLIN
Turkish community organizations in Germany, after weeks of campaigning, are making their final appeals for high participation in the upcoming elections, amid concerns stemming from rising far-right discourse.
Germany will go to the polls on Feb. 23 to elect a new parliament that will determine how the country is run for the next four years.
According to the German Turkish Community (TGD), of the more than 3 million people of Turkish descent residing in Germany, more than 1 million hold citizenship and the right to vote.
While participation in Turkish elections among Germany's Turkish population fluctuates between 40 percent and 50 percent, voter turnout in Germany's own elections presents a stark contrast: Despite over 1 million Turkish-origin citizens being eligible to vote in federal elections, only around 20 percent actually did so in the previous polls.
“The number one election issue is immigration and refugees. In a parliament dominated by the far right, it will not be possible to gain new rights and we may face the danger of rights such as dual citizenship, gained in the previous term, being cut back,” said TGD head Gökay Sofuoğlu.
Numerous Turkish organizations have voiced growing apprehension over the rise of far-right, emphasizing that casting a ballot has become more crucial than ever in the face of such political shifts.
In response, some organizations have launched campaigns across multiple German cities to mobilize voters, deploying vans adorned with slogans in Turkish, such as "For Democracy! Count Me In!”
Sofuoğlu reminded that the far-right Alternative for Germany or AfD, as part of its campaign strategy, has been distributing "return flight tickets" to immigrants —a chilling echo of measures witnessed in 1933.
He expressed his astonishment at the increasing normalization of far-right rhetoric in Germany, with terms and concepts long considered taboo now being openly used without public outcry.
Selçuk Demirci, the head of the Berlin Turkish Community, condemned the AfD's populist tactics, stating, "Instead of offering real solutions to existing problems, they exploit xenophobia, promising to expel foreigners and revoke residence permits.”
“This is simplistic politics at its worst."
He urged the Turkish community in Germany to uphold shared democratic values.
Turkish journalist Nurdoğan Aktaş described this election as "the most tense in Germany’s history," attributing the heightened atmosphere to the far right’s inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Recent polling suggests that the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) are poised to emerge as the leading party with 27 percent of the vote, followed by the AfD at 20 percent.
On the other hand, Hidayet Yiğit, a Cologne-based shopkeeper who has lived in Germany for 45 years, noted that some foreign-born individuals have openly declared their intention to vote for the AfD.
German media recently reported that a very small segment of the Turkish community has expressed support for the far-right party. A Turkish AfD supporter interviewed claimed that the party’s anti-immigrant rhetoric does not target long-settled and integrated Turks but rather focuses on more recent refugees. However, analysts warn that such divisions within the community could exacerbate polarization.
During its election campaign, the AfD has also produced content directly in Turkish, releasing videos aimed at appealing to Turkish-origin voters. Experts suggest this strategy is designed to exploit existing societal fault lines and further fragment the electorate.
In an interview last week with Türkiye’s daily Hürriyet, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized the right parties’ stance on dual citizenship, warning that revoking such rights would be a grave mistake.
