Image: AFP/Winter
Observers see the voting behavior of Turks abroad as a key reason for the clear victory of incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Turkish presidential election. For opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu there was only a clear tailwind from the community in Great Britain, in Sweden and Switzerland he received majorities (see chart).
Austria once again proved to be Erdogan’s stronghold, where the long-term president was the most clearly above the overall result of 52.15 percent (preliminary results) with 73.9 percent after Belgium (74.9 percent). Participation among the approximately 108,000 Turkish citizens who are eligible to vote in Austria in the second ballot was also at a record level of 57.6 percent.
Erdogan also scored well in other countries with a large Turkish community, including Germany (67.4 percent), France (66.6 percent) and the Netherlands (70.4 percent).
Focus Vienna
Vienna, and especially Reumannplatz in Favoriten, was the focal point for loud fan rallies after Erdogan’s success was established. According to the police, motorcades led to considerable traffic delays on Sunday evening. After three hours, however, the situation calmed down. Against several protesters who banned “wolf greeting” of the extremist Gray Wolves, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is investigating.
FP boss Herbert Kickl spoke of “Audacity of fanatics”. The former interior minister did it “Decades of neglect when it comes to integration” responsible for SPÖ and ÖVP.
Similar marches “sometimes with physical altercations” existed in German cities. Criticism came from Green Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir. For him the motorcades were “an unmistakable rejection of our pluralistic democracy”.
Source: Nachrichten
