On May 14, the Turks are called to the polls to elect a new president. Turks abroad are eligible to vote, including in Germany, which has the largest Turkish population. According to the Federal Office for Migration and Asylum (BAMF), about 2.8 million citizens of Turkish origin live in Germany. It should be noted that this figure reflected the reality of five years ago. Half of them have a Turkish passport.

From April 27 to May 9, they can vote in a total of 14 Turkish representations in Germany. Consul General Turhan Kaya, in an interview with DW, did not wish to disclose details while the process of coordination with the German authorities is underway. The outcome of the Turkish elections is completely open. However, this time President Erdogan may lose the election to his opponent Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, president of the Kemalist-secular CHP, which is supported by a wide range of politicians and society. However, Erdogan and his AKP party can count on a clear victory in the German elections.

A solid foundation in Germany

Metin Sirin has been living in Cologne for 43 years. He worked for Ford factories for decades and was an active unionist. He voted for Erdogan in previous elections and wants to do the same this time: “Over the past 20 years, my sympathy for the AKP has steadily grown,” he says. Younis Ulysoy from the Center for Turkish Studies and Integration Studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen says that Turks in Germany vote for Erdogan disproportionately more than in Turkey. In the 2017 referendum on constitutional reform, about 63% of Turks in Germany voted for Erdogan. in favor of Erdogan’s plans to transform the parliamentary system into a presidential one, while the corresponding figure in Turkey was just under 51%. In the 2018 presidential election, 64.8% of German Turks who came to the polls voted for Erdogan. In Turkey, its share was 52.6%.

Of course, the trend abroad is not the same everywhere. For example, in 2018, Erdogan received only 17% of the total vote in the US, 21% in the UK, 35% in Iran and 29% in Qatar. However, the electoral behavior of the Turks in Germany has caused criticism. They have been accused of inconsistent attitudes, mostly those who vote for the Social Democrats or the Greens in German elections and in Turkey for the Islamic conservative AKP. How is this possible?

For Metin Sirin, this is a perfectly reasonable decision, even a testament to how open and a little fanatical the conservative Turkish voters in Germany are. “People naturally vote for the party that represents their interests. We need to see it in a positive way.” Political observers are of the same opinion. “Of course, even as a foreigner, you look at which party is closer to you. The question used to be: CDU or SPD? At that time, the Turks were mostly workers, and the Social Democratic Party, with its international orientation, was closer to the conservative Turks than the conservative Christian Democratic Party,” explains integration researcher Ulisoy. “The first Turks to come to Germany were mostly from rural, conservative Anatolia. When people migrate, they continue to develop the values ​​they bring with them. Their conservative religious views remain, especially in the diaspora.”

“You belong to us”

“Many Germans don’t even try to understand the electoral behavior of conservative Turks,” Ulusoy criticizes. “You can judge it by ideological criteria or criticize it, but you can also try to understand what drives voters to vote like that. In addition, German public opinion is focused on the Turks. Are there only German Turks who vote in their national elections? Of course not. Italians living abroad also have the right to vote. In Italy, a right-wing populist government came to power, and no one knows how the Italians in Germany voted. Nobody was interested.”

Erdogan seems to have filled in the gap left by the German state: “After 60 years, it is still difficult for politicians to clearly recognize these people and say that you belong to this country, whether you are the founder of BioNTech or you may have been involved in some rebellion in my youth on New Year’s Eve. Even if you make mistakes, you belong to us. On the contrary, this is exactly what Erdogan is talking about. “Wherever you are, whatever your nationality, you belong to us.” A similar point of view is shared by sociologist Zabrina Meyer. “It was easy for Erdogan to appeal to segments of the population of Turkish origin who yearned for recognition,” the Bamberg University professor told DW. Due to the policies of the German government, the Turks of Germany “could not feel like they belonged to German society”.

Meyer notes that obtaining German citizenship for people of Turkish origin was not easy for a long time, unlike other immigrant groups such as German-Russians. “Factors like this encourage young people, especially in the third generation, to vote for Erdogan, including with malicious intent,” says Ulusoy. This is confirmed by Metin Sirin, an AKP voter from Cologne. “In recent years, conservatives have been ostracized by German political parties because of Erdogan. This is a very sad development. This exception naturally provoked a reaction.” Regardless of the outcome of the May 14 elections, Sirin enjoys the right to vote and the fact that he is politically represented: “Although I have lived in Germany for 43 years, I am not allowed to vote here in local elections. It’s a disqualification and it makes me sad. But Türkiye gives us the right to vote. I am proud to be able to speak on behalf of our citizens.”