Turkish overseas balloting begins on June 7

By Ferdi Turkten

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish citizens living abroad are getting ready to cast ballots in Turkey’s June 24 early presidential and parliamentary elections.

According to the official election calendar published on Thursday, Turkish expats will be able to vote for 12 days, June 7-19. The voting days will vary according to the country, in line with the number of voters there.

Balloting at customs gates will also begin on June 7, and will continue through June 24, Election Day.

If no candidate seeking the presidency gets an absolute majority of votes, a second round of elections will follow on July 8.

Turkish expats will be able to vote in the possible second round between June 30 and July 4, according to the election calendar. The balloting at customs gates will continue through July 8.

More than 2.9 million Turkish expatriates are eligible to vote in the election.

In 2014 -- the first popular election of the presidency -- overseas ballots totaled nearly 931,500. By the November 2015 parliamentary elections, that figure had risen to a little more than 1 million ballots, or 40 percent turnout.

In the constitutional referendum of April 2017, nearly 1.4 million out of 2.9 million Turkish expatriates cast ballots.