The largest Turkish community abroad lives in Germany with 1.5 million nationals. Many voted remotely for the first round of the presidential election and the result of the ballot is not necessarily what they expected.
On the TV screen of this Turkish restaurant, Monday, May 15, the images of the ballot parade in a loop with the scores of the candidates at the end of the first round of the presidential election in Turkey. According to the final results, incumbent President Recep Tayip Erdogan won 49.51% of the vote, against 44.88% for his social-democratic rival, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu. A second round will decide between the two candidates on May 28.
>>> LIVE. Elections in Turkey: Erdogan narrowly misses victory and will face Kiliçdaroglu in a second round on May 28, announces the Supreme Electoral Council
Bülent watches the news channel with disappointment, finishing his sandwich. “I wanted a good sweep after 20 years of Erdogan in power”, confides this 45-year-old craftsman. He fed “this hope” but the result of the first round of the presidential election is, according to him, “not really a surprise” because “the current government is dominant, very powerful, unlike the opposition”.
“In small towns and villages, people love him. They swear by him and not by another.”
Bülent, a Turkish national in Berlinfranceinfo
Erdogan’s government “has built roads and bridges, we need them but that’s not all”continues Bülent.
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In 2018, the Turks of Berlin had voted 51% for Recep Tayip Erdogan, much less than the 65% collected by the outgoing president in Germany. In Kreuzberg, the Turkish district of the capital, Ahmet, 40, runs a copy shop. The trader struggles to understand the result. “After the earthquake, I thought he was going to lose because of all the economic problems and the mismanagement of the earthquake. He should have lost this election.”
“For two years the inflation has been unbelievable, the poor are getting poorer and poorer and people still vote for him… It’s because of nationalism and religion, he still uses that.”
Ahmet, a Turkish national living in Berlinfranceinfo
Arin shares this analysis. She believes that Recep Tayip Erdogan poses as a defender of Islam to stay in power. The young woman crossed near the Kottbusser Tor also accuses the outgoing president of fraud. “He manipulated the ballot so he could continue to lead. There were a lot of problems. Some people couldn’t go to vote, the ballots are not counted correctly and all the media are on his side. It’s like that for ten years, everyone knows it. It’s a whole system that he has put in place.” The Turks of Germany are therefore called upon to vote again for an unprecedented second round, but many encountered in the streets of Berlin, believe that it is a foregone conclusion.
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The misunderstanding of the Turkish community in Berlin after the first round of the presidential election in Turkey – report by Sébastien Baer
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