Turkish expatriates in the UK are set to vote in the country’s upcoming referendum which is set to determine the regime and system prospects. Turkish citizens will be asked whether the regime should be re-organised into a presidential system from the ongoing parliamentary system.
Turkish expats need to ensure that they have registered their addresses in their local authorities, in order for their votes to be counted. In order to vote in Turkish elections overseas you must be enrolled on the overseas electoral register.
DEADLINE AMENDMENTS
If you have had any dealing with the consulate in recent years (to renew a passport or delay military service, for example) you are likely to have been automatically enrolled. To check if you are on the register, visit www.ysk.gov.tr and click on the “Yurt Dışı Seçmen Sorgulama” link. Until last Tuesday, the deadlined were stated as the Friday, February 17 however an unexpected and prompt amendment to the last day of voter registration was changed into the February 15 Wednesday.
As the prompt changes led Turkish citizens to take action very quickly, by many of the voters this act was seen as imprudent. It was seen that huge queues were lined up by the Turkish Consulate for registration procedures.
On the voting day, for London the venue of voting is expected to be the Olympia Conference Centre and in Edinburgh the Consulate. However, no exact dates have been announced for the actual voting days.