Turkey’s Consul-General in London takes Londra Gazete readers through the steps involved
Turkey’s Consul-General in London Emirhan Yorulmazlar
Unregistered voters have less than a week to enrol if they want to vote in this summer’s Turkish presidential election.
Voters have until next Wednesday 9 July to register in person at the Turkish Consulate in Knightsbridge and add their name to the overseas electoral register.
The deadline for applying by post was yesterday, Wednesday 2 July, and any applications that arrive after that date will not be processed in time for the election.
Turkey’s consul general Emirhan Yorulmazlar told Londra Gazete that there was a two-step process to voting in the election, which will be held on the weekend of 2 and 3 August.
STEP ONE: BOOK A TIME
Towards the end of this month, voters must log on to the Turkish Electoral Board’s (YSK) website at www.ysk.gov.tr and book a time slot in which they will come to vote.
They can choose to vote in a morning or afternoon slot on either Saturday or Sunday.
Mr Yorulmazlar said that under YSK guidelines, voters who book a morning slot but do not arrive in time will be permitted to vote in the afternoon. However, anyone who books a Saturday slot but arrives on Sunday will not be able to cast a ballot.
The YSK website will begin accepting time slot bookings from Monday 21 July. Registered voters who do not book a slot will have a time allocated to them.
The Consul-General said a bank of computers would be made available at the Consulate in Knightsbridge to help Turkish expatriates book a voting time slot.
STEP TWO: VOTE
Voting will take place at Kensington Olympia between 8am and 5pm on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 August.
As with elections in Turkey, voters will be required to present a form of identity that contains their national identity number (TC Kimlik Numarası), such as an identity card or passport.
Mr Yorulmazlar said that staff from the Consulate will be on hand at the polling station to guide voters to the correct ballot box.
ANOTHER OPTION: VOTE AT THE BORDER
Another option for anyone who will not be in Britain that weekend is to vote at the Turkish border. Registered voters travelling home for a summer holiday can cast their ballots at airports, seaports or land border crossings with neighbouring countries at any time between 26 July and 10 August.
Unlike previous years, however, voters will not have to cross the border in order to vote. At airports, polling stations will be opened before airport security.
