As of Thursday, 1.5 million Turks in Germany can vote on the re-election of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They have until May 9th to cast their votes in one of the 26 polling stations in the Federal Republic. The parliamentary and presidential elections in Turkey will not take place until May 14th. If none of the presidential candidates get more than 50 percent, the runoff will take place on May 28th.
In the last elections five years ago, there was a dispute about campaign appearances by Turkish politicians in Germany. A similar conflict is not expected this time. Such appearances by foreign politicians are now no longer permitted three months before the votes in their countries.
Tight race expected
After 20 years in power, the Turkish president has to fear for his re-election. Polls predict a neck-and-neck race between Erdogan and his challenger, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu. This occurs as a joint candidate for an alliance of six opposition parties from different camps.
It is not yet clear who will win the majority in Parliament with its 600 members. Since the introduction of a presidential system in 2018, the president has had far-reaching powers, but parliament has been weakened. Key issues in Turkey’s election campaign are the economy and the earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people in February.
Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir sees the possibility of a turnaround in Turkish politics in the forthcoming Turkish elections. A victory for opposition candidate Kilicdaroglu “would pave the way for a return to democracy,” the Greens politician told the editorial network Germany (RND). The outcome of the elections was “more open than ever” in Erdogan’s 20-year term as head of government.
The German-Turkish opposition MP and former Erdogan confidante Mustafa Yeneroglu meanwhile appealed to Turkish voters in Germany to vote for the rule of law and democracy in Turkey.
According to Yeneroglu, Turkey has made great progress in Erdogan’s first two terms of office, especially in terms of the economy and democratic standards. “But particularly in recent years, Turkey has completely reversed all developments that were made in the first decade of the millennium,” Yeneroglu told the German Press Agency. It hurts him and makes him “extremely sad” that the Turkish voters in Germany don’t get it.
In the past elections in 2018, around half of the Turks who were eligible to vote in Germany used their right to vote. Around 65 percent voted for Erdogan. He thus performed significantly better in the Federal Republic than in the overall result (around 53 percent). (dpa)
