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Germany under fire for preventing Turkish citizens from voting

Germany rejected the Turkish government's request to open more polling booths in order to avoid long lines.

Germany’s refusal to allow more polling booths has created problems for Turkish diaspora voters to exercise their franchise in Türkiye’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

Even German media outlets covered the issue, highlighting the long queues outside Turkish polling stations in Germany, after Berlin rejected Ankara’s request for 10 more polling stations.

Over 1.4 million Turkish voters living in Germany – the largest bloc of diaspora voters – are expected to cast their votes in 26 representative offices between April 27 and May 9. Voting in Türkiye will be held on May 14.

The report by the German news outlet said that an estimated 145,000 voters in Hesse have to go to the Consulate General in Frankfurt or to a polling station in Kassel.

“Requests to open polling stations in Limburg and Fulda in order to shorten the journey and relieve Frankfurt were rejected,” the report added.

“This is one of the reasons why there are particularly long queues in front of the Consulate General on Kennedyallee (Frankfurt), where up to 5,000 Turks come by every day to vote,” it said. "There they meet a well-prepared security team with around 20 employees, who steer the people in an orderly manner.”

The report quoted Consul General Erdem Tuncer as saying that he expected an even higher turnout than in 2017 when around 48 percent of voters exercised their right to vote.

The London-based news website Middle East Eye quoted AK Party parliamentary candidate Oguz Ucuncu as saying, “This decision complicates the voting process and forces Turkish citizens to consider longer journeys and waiting times.”

This development has re-ignited a heated debate about the treatment of Turkish citizens in Germany and has raised concerns about the country's double standards when it comes to commitment to democracy.

Many have called on Germany to remove the bureaucratic obstacles and ensure that all citizens, regardless of their ethnicity or nationality, are able to fully participate in the democratic process.