The Republic of Turkiye is gearing up for a massive international operation to enable more than 3 million Turkish nationals living abroad to vote in the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections, which are taking place on 14 May 2023.
Voting stations are being opened in 73 countries worldwide for Turks on the electoral register to cast their ballot in the crucial Turkish elections, which will decide the future of incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), who have been in power for the past two decades.
A total of 3,416,098 Turkish citizens have registered to vote abroad. Of these, the number of first-time voters is 277,646. Citizens had been given until 12 April to ensure their details were on the electoral register for the upcoming elections.
The biggest number of overseas Turks registered to vote in the 2023 Elections are in Germany, with 1.5 million people – nearly half all of all overseas voters.
The next six highest according to the number of registered voters are France (397K), Netherlands (287K), Belgium (153K), TRNC (140K), USA (134K) and UK (127K).
Breakdown of Turkish voters abroad by country
According to Turkish officials, the number of registered overseas voters for each of the 73 countries where voting will take place is as follows:
Albania: 1,416
Algeria: 2,280
Australia: 53,902
Austria: 111,659
Azerbaijan: 11,036
Bahrain: 1,359
Belarus: 643
Belgium: 153,443
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2,946
Brazil: 581
Bulgaria: 6,391
Canada: 40,418
China: 4,337
Czech Republic: 3,018
Denmark: 36,725
Egypt: 2,327
Estonia: 776
Finland: 6,791
France: 397,086
Georgia: 2,306
Germany: 1,501,152
Greece: 11,714
Iraq: 5,738
Iran: 1,592
Ireland: 6,770
Israel: 5,088
Italy: 20,148
Hungary: 3,887
Japan: 5,672
Jordan: 3,030
Kazakhstan: 6,101
Korea: 866
Kosovo: 2,192
Kuwait: 4,725
Kyrgyz Republic: 3,118
Lebanon: 8,325
Libya: 1,132
Lithuania: 795
Luxembourg: 1,507
Malaysia: 711
Malta: 2,808
Moldova: 861
Morocco: 685
Montenegro: 1,704
Netherlands: 286,753
New Zealand: 1,115
Nigeria: 584
North Macedonia: 4,107
Norway: 10,391
Qatar: 10,868
Pakistan: 1,233
Poland: 10,457
Portugal: 1,484
Romania: 10,172
Russia: 14,357
Saudi Arabia: 23,005
Serbia: 2,311
Singapore: 1,020
Slovak Republic: 642
South Africa: 1,561
Spain: 7,430
Sultanate of Oman: 1,395
Sweden: 42,773
Switzerland: 105,820
Tanzania: 865
Thailand: 1,278
TRNC 140,111
Turkmenistan: 635
Ukraine: 2,608
United Arab Emirates: 12,757
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: 127,281
USA: 134,246
Uzbekistan: 3,182
Voting in the Turkish Elections in the UK
Details of dates and times when each of the overseas voting stations will be open vary, but the last date for any overseas voting is confirmed as 9 May.
Specially constructed voting stations will tend to be open longer, from 09.00 to 21.00 local time, while those in representative and consular offices will operate between 09.00 and 18.00 local time.
In the United Kingdom, voting stations will open on Saturday 29 April and run until 7 May in four locations: London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Leicester.
Voting in Turkiye
People in Turkiye will cast their votes on Sunday, 14 May. Voting will end at 17.00. Citizens returning to Turkiye on the day of the elections who are on the overseas electoral register can cast their ballot at the customs gate.
Plans if Presidential Election goes to run-off
In the event that no single candidate gets more than 50% of the vote on 14 May, the Presidential Election will go to a second round, which will be held in Turkiye a fortnight later, on Sunday, 28 May.
For overseas voters, arrangements will be made for them to cast their vote between 20 and 24 May. Voting at the customs gates will also be possible, which will open at 08:00 on Saturday, 20 May, and continue until 17:00 on 28 May.
Those who are registered in the foreign electoral register and spend the election period in Turkey will be able to vote at any of the customs gates.
Main image, top, of Arnhem Netherlands: Trial votes in the Turkyem Mosque in the run-up to the Provincial Council elections, 13 Mar 2023. Photo © Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock (13817610c)
