Turks abroad can cast their ballot in general elections from April 27

Ballot

Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) announced on Tuesday that Turks living abroad can cast their ballots in the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections from April 27.

The court said voting will begin at border crossings and electoral venues abroad on April 27 and end on May 9.

Turkey is holding presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14. If no candidate wins the presidential election, there will be a run-off on May 28.

In that case, Turkish citizens abroad can vote between May 20 and 24, according to the YSK.

The parliamentary and presidential elections are seen as a key test for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The 69-year-old has been in power for 20 years.

According to opinion polls, Erdoğan’s re-election is anything but certain.

Earlier an alliance of six parties put up opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, 74, as a joint candidate to try to topple Erdoğan.

Smaller parties also want to register candidates.

It is still unclear whether the important pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) will put forward its own candidate or whether it throw its weight behind Kılıçdaroğlu.

In the parliamentary elections, both Erdoğan’s conservative Islamic governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Kılıçdaroğlu’s centre-left Republican People’s Party (CHP) are running in alliances with other parties.

The most important partner for Erdoğan is the ultra-nationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), while for Kilicdaroglu it is the conservative nationalist İyi (Good) Party.

(NAN)