After no presidential candidate succeeded in winning 50% of the vote in Sunday’s (May 14) first round, Turkish voters will return to the polls to cast ballots in a second round runoff between incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on May 28. In a recent decision, Turkey’s highest governing body that oversees the country’s elections, the Supreme Election Council (YSK), announced that the typical five-day voting period for overseas voters will be reduced to two days in countries that heavily supported Kılıçdaroğlu in the first round.
The normal voting period for most countries in the second round will be May 20-24, allowing voters in these countries to report to their embassies or consulates and cast their votes within this five-day period. However residents of the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Japan, Canada, and Libya will only be allowed to vote on May 20 and 21, shortening the voting period by three days. Turkish residents in the US, UK, and Canada are in particular known for their strong support of the opposition, as was evidenced by the vote totals for Kılıçdaroğlu from those countries in the first round.
The normal five-day voting period, however, remains unchanged in countries known for their strong support of President Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP). France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands are all host to large Turkish immigrant communities known for their reliable support of the AKP. In these countries, Turkish citizens will have an extra three days to vote compared to their countrymen across the pond.
The announcement of this shortened voting period for select countries was first announced by Turkey’s Washington DC embassy on late Monday evening (May 15). Reactions quickly poured in from Turkish citizens living in the United States, with many complaining on social media about the 8-10 hour trek necessary to reach their polling place within a short two-day span.
DUYURU@HMuratMercan pic.twitter.com/DukbOCeEZu
— Turkish Embassy DC (@TurkishEmbassy) May 15, 2023
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) US representative Yurter Özcan announced on social media early Tuesday that the party would be appealing the YSK’s decision. His post read: “We plan to appeal the decision to shorten the voting period in places such as the US, UK, and Canada where our chairman Kılıçdaroğlu received a high percentage of the vote.”
KAMUOYUNA DUYURULUR:
AKP’nin 2. Tur ile alakalı hiç de rahat olmadığını anlatmak için bunları yazıyorum. Karamsar olmayın lütfen.
Bugün YSK’ya itirazımızı yapıyoruz, gelişmeleri size bildireceğim.
AKP sadece 5672 seçmenin olduğu JAPONYA’da bile sırf Kılıçdaroğlu en çok oyu…— Yurter Özcan (@YurterOzcan) May 16, 2023Medyascope'u destekle. Medyascope'a abone ol.
Medyascope’u senin desteğin ayakta tutuyor. Hiçbir patronun, siyasi çıkarın güdümünde değiliz; hangi haberi yapacağımıza biz karar veriyoruz. Tıklanma uğruna değil, kamu yararına çalışıyoruz. Bağımsız gazeteciliğin sürmesi, sitenin açık kalması ve herkesin doğru bilgiye erişebilmesi senin desteğinle mümkün.
In an update several hours later, Özcan wrote: “We had been told prior to the election that in the event of a second round, the voting period in the United States would be five days. Until yesterday evening, the websites of the DC embassy and the other consulates around the country had also indicated that this period would be five days. But with this change, the period has been reduced to two days by the YSK. And it just so happens that this change has been made in countries where Kılıçdaroğlu won a record share of the vote such as the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and Japan.”
“The YSK and the Foreign Ministry are playing the same game. They can’t use logistical reasons as an excuse because the original time period specified was five days. Please make your voices heard.”
In Sunday’s first round, incumbent President Erdoğan received 49.25% of the vote according to official figures from ANKA. His main challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu received 45.06%, with third-party candidate Sinan Oğan winning 5.28%. The winner of the second round runoff on May 28 between Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu will be elected as president for a five year term.
