Community leaders criticise choice of Kensington Olympia as the single UK polling station in this summer’s Turkish presidential election
Turkish passport holders are expected to vote in a single polling station at the Olympia centre.
Community leaders have slammed the Turkish consulate’s ‘mistake’ in designating a distant polling station for this summer’s presidential election.
The Olympia Centre in Kensington, West London, is set to be named as the single polling station for nearly 80,000 UK-based voters in this August’s Turkish presidential election.
İsrafil Erbil, the head of the British Alevi Federation
But authorities had been urged to pick a venue closer to the where the Turkish-speaking communities live in order to reduce travelling time and increase turnout.
İsrafil Erbil, the head of the British Alevi Federation, said he believed the decision would affect turnout by at least 50 per cent.
“A polling station placed outside the areas where our community lives is like asking people living on the Asian side of Istanbul to vote in the Europe,” he told Londra Gazete.
“We predict this mistake will be a great problem for our community,” said Muttalip Ünlüer, president of the Union of European Turkish Democrats in the UK.
“My feeling is that if the election had been held in at least four different venues in London over three days, it would have produced more successful results.”
Haringey’s Alexandra Palace and other unnamed venues in Enfield – all in North London, where tens of thousands of Turkish passport holders live – were considered but ultimately rejected by officials organising this summer’s vote, it is understood.
The Turkish Consulate in London told Londra Gazete that no final decision had been made but that they had to consider the needs of voters not only in London but in places as far afield as Manchester.
VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE
The Consul-General, Emirhan Yorulmazlar, is due to attend a weekend meeting of consular officials in Cologne, where final arrangements for the presidential election are expected to be decided.
Muttalip Ünlüer, president of the Union of European Turkish Democrats in the UK
Mr Yorulmazlar reiterated his call for all eligible Turkish nationals to register to vote. Turkish passport holders aged 18 or over can take part in this summer’s election, but must first be placed on the overseas electoral roll. They can do this by posting a registration form and a photocopy of their identification to the Turkish Consulate.
Mssrs Erbil and Ünlüer both said they were urging members of their organisation to enrol as soon as possible.
THOUSANDS OF TURKISH NATIONALS
Last week Londra Gazete revealed more than 76,000 expatriates had so far registered to vote ahead of this summer’s election, although figures from the 2011 census suggest this number could be higher still.
That year 93,539 residents declared Turkey as their place of birth on their census forms in England, Scotland and Wales. If those among this number with UK-born children carrying Turkish passports are taken into account, the number of registered voters could potentially be higher.