Notable divergence between voting abroad and voting in Turkey

On May 15, the results of the presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey held on May 14 were announced. The Supreme Election Board (YSK) announced on Monday morning that data entry is ongoing and that according to the latest counts, Recep Tayyip Erdogan received 49,40 percent of the vote, Kemal Kilicdaroglu 44,96 percent, and Sinan Ogan 5,2 percent. Since no candidate has received at least 50 percent of the votes required to be elected as president, it has become clear that the presidential election will go to a second round on May 28.

Although there were three candidates in the presidential election, the main contest was between Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu. According to the results released at midday on Monday, the percentage of ballot boxes opened is 99,87 percent and the results for the presidential elections are as follows:

Recep Tayyip Erdogan: 49,50 %

Kemal Kilicdaroglu: 44,89 %

The election results abroad were quite different:

Recep Tayyip Erdogan: 57,20 %

Kemal Kilicdaroglu: 39,85 %

The results show that voters abroad are relatively more supportive of Erdoğan than those living in Turkey. While there is a significant difference in votes between the candidates abroad, the society in the country is more divided in its desire for a change of government. Differences between voting in Turkey and overseas were also evident in the parliamentary election. According to the most recent published data, the results of the parliamentary election in Turkey are as follows:

AKP: 35,60 %

CHP: 25,35 %

MHP: 10,08 %

YSP: 8,82 %

IYI: 9,70 %

According to the official announcement, these are the results of the election abroad:

AKP: 44,27 %

CHP: 23,78 %

MHP: 11,01 %

YSP: 9,83 %

IYI: 3,58 %

Also in the parliamentary elections, the results indicate that voters abroad were relatively more supportive of the AKP. Overall, the decline in Erdogan’s and the AKP’s share of the vote compared to the results of the previous elections indicates a loss of support for them, but less so among voters living outside Turkey.