By Sarp Ozer and Ferdi Turkten
ANKARA (AA) – Nearly half of Turkish voters living abroad cast votes for Turkey’s June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections – a higher turnout than in previous polls, the nation's top election official said Wednesday.
Some 1.49 million Turkish expats went to the polls on June 7-19, a turnout of 48.78 percent, Sadi Guven, head of the Supreme Board of Elections (YSK), told reporters in the capital Ankara, adding that the voting at foreign missions in 60 countries had occurred without incident.
In last year’s constitutional referendum, some 1.4 million Turkish citizens abroad cast votes, a turnout of 47.91 percent, he added.
But turnout is expected to rise further, as voting at customs gates will continue through Election Day, this Sunday, June 24, he said.
All the votes cast across Europe will be sent to Turkey by airmail and counted at the same time as the votes cast in Turkey on June 24, said Sadi.
Guven also warned against any attempts at electoral fraud, including double voting, saying: “We have never allowed nobody to abuse [the polls] and we never will.”
People who try to commit voter fraud can face up to five years in prison, he noted.
In Turkey, voters will go to the polls on June 24 — less than a week away.
Over 3 million Turks living abroad are eligible to vote for the presidential and general elections.
Six candidates are running for president, while eight political parties are taking part in the parliamentary elections.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has served as president since 2014 — Turkey's first popularly elected president. Before that, he served as prime minister from 2003 to 2014.
If reelected on Sunday, he will be Turkey’s first president under the new presidential system of government, chosen by Turkish voters in an April 2017 referendum.
