Turkey to grant identification card for German Turks who lost citizenship

Turkey to grant identification card for German Turks who lost citizenship

Turkish government is poised to make legal arrangements that would allow Turks living abroad to vote in their country of residence, Turkish Deputy Premier Bekir Bozdag has said.

Turkish government is poised to make legal arrangements that would allow Turks living abroad to vote in their country of residence, Turkish Deputy Premier Bekir Bozdag has said.

The government’s move is aimed at securing expat voting for as many as two million Turkish voters who were unable to go to polls in last June’s general elections because of a veto from Turkey’s elections supervision authority.

“Our initial efforts for expatriate Turks in the June 12 elections were taken aback by the Supreme Board of Elections, which I believe made a mistake in making that decision. We have prepared a bill which is now circulated. And we will submit the bill to the parliament in the shortest possible time,” Bozdag told the Anadolu Agency.

Bozdag said separate voter registers would be prepared for expat Turks to cast their votes in Turkish diplomatic missions, adding that new consulates could be opened to that end.

Bozdag also said the Turkish government was working on a separate bill to issue a special identification card which would preserve rights of those who gave up Turkish citizenship to win German nationality in their formal procedures in Turkey.

AA