The Implementation of Voting from Abroad: Evidence from the 2014 Turkish Presidential Election
| Author | M. Murat Erdoğan,Zeynep Şahin‐Mencütek |
| Published date | 01 June 2016 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12229 |
| Date | 01 June 2016 |
The Implementation of Voting from Abroad:
Evidence from the 2014 Turkish Presidential
Election
Zeynep S
ßahin-Menc€
utek* and M. Murat Erdo
gan**
ABSTRACT
Voting from abroad (VFA) is a complex norm and practice due to the multilevel processes,
structures and actors involved. This article explores the reasons behind the eventual adoption
of this practice within the context of a long and well-known history of emigration in Turkey.
During the 2014 Turkish presidential election, emigrants from Turkey were finally allowed to
participate from abroad even though legislation giving them this right has been in place since
1995. Based on archival research and fieldwork in Germany and the United States, this article
discusses the varying relevance of three central explanatory factors to the implementation of
VFA: emigrant lobbying, the electoral expectations of potential benefit by the governing party,
and the presence of broader, state-led diaspora engagement policies. The first of these is
important but insufficient, whereas the second factor is necessary. Moreover, the presence of
broader, state-led diaspora engagement policies is a mediating factor. This article finds that
specific actors like political parties may play the crucial role, highlighting the need for critical
examination of their role in the implementation process.
INTRODUCTION
Research into migration, diasporas, and transnational communities shows that citizenship goes
beyond being a purely territorialized relationship (Collyer, 2013: 301). Although the traditional
membership and citizenship approach focuses on host state membership, treating it as unique and
exclusive, many home states grant citizenship status as well as rights and duties to “external citi-
zens who are temporarily or permanently outside of the territory of a polity that recognizes them as
members”(Baub€
ock, 2009: 478).
Voting from abroad (VFA), also known as voting abroad, out-of-country voting, external fran-
chise, external voting and diaspora/migrant voting, can be defined as legislation by which citizens
residing abroad are given rights to vote in their home country elections. Recently, it has become an
international norm as well as a set of practices (Boccagni, Lafleur, Levitt, 2015: 13). More than
115 countries have allowed VFA for nationals within the past two decades. The number could now
be substantially higher with additions, such as Egypt in 2011 and Libya in 2012.
Studies show that there were different stages in the adoption and implementation of VFA. Some
countries like Angola, Bolivia, Greece, and Nicaragua have introduced provisions for VFA, but
have not yet fully implemented them. Some other countries, such as India, Israel, Zimbabwe, and
* Gediz University, Izmir.
** Hacettepe University, Ankara.
doi: 10.1111/imig.12229
©2015 The Authors
International Migration ©2015 IOM
International Migration Vol. 54 (3) 2016
ISSN 0020-7985Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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