Dutch Turks stand in line for two hours to vote for change

People with a Dutch and Turkish nationality are allowed to vote for the Turkish elections in Eindhoven on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. And that could be the most exciting election in years, with current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan running head-to-head against opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

It is a possible tipping point for the Turkish population. At least, according to the polls. Erdogan is almost on par with Kilicdaroglu. And so the result may ensure that perhaps, after almost twenty years of Erdogan, a new president can come.

There are four cities in the Netherlands where Dutch-Turks are allowed to vote: in Amsterdam, The Hague, Deventer and Eindhoven, where the Turkish consulate has briefly moved into the Van der Valk hotel for the occasion.

The line is huge, two hours long. Students, families, children and their parents stand in a long procession across the parking lot in the sun, waiting for their turn. They are hundreds of voters who want to contribute to what they see as a beautiful and fair Turkey, of a total of 200,000 Dutch people with Turkish voting rights.

There is a lot of demand for that this year. “In Turkey, the queues are normally only five minutes, which is different here,” says one of the students in the queue. She is from Istanbul, but is here on exchange. And despite the long queue, she thinks it’s extremely important to vote.

“I expect a lot of people think it’s time for a change.”

Merve, from Venlo, shares that thought. “We have family living there and everyone in this row has an interest there. Either people have a house there or they want to live there again. In that case it is their duty to vote here.”

This year’s elections in Turkey are particularly tense. Erdogan, who has been president of the country since 2014, is taking on opposition leader Kilicdaroglu, among others. In particular, she called on Turkish foreigners to vote there as well. According to the polls, it is a neck-and-neck race. “I expect a lot of people think it’s time for a change,” Merve responds. “Most people in this line are ready for that.”

“I came to the Netherlands because of the political situation in Turkey, even though I love my country,” the waiting Aysegul continues. “The best thing that can happen right now is the big change. It really needs to change politically and economically. Hopefully I can go back someday.”

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