While all parties continue to campaign for the parliamentary and presidential elections to be held in Turkey and North Kurdistan on 14 May, voting has already started for the voters abroad.

Voters living in Europe and other countries began to vote yesterday (April 27) and will be able to cast their votes by 9 May. Political parties participating in the elections have stepped up their campaigns. One of these parties is the Green Left Party. The party, which has a significant electoral potential in Europe, continues to campaign with the committees it has formed.

The Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Executive Board Member Zübeyir Aydar called on the Kurds and their friends in Europe to go to the polls to hold the AKP-MHP government accountable. He said: "The regime run by Erdoğan has been shedding our blood and killing us for years. We must go to the polls and vote to hold this regime accountable."  

'EVERYONE SHOULD ADOPT AN ATTITUDE'

Speaking to ANF, Aydar said: "We are in the election process in Europe and other countries of the world. The voting already began in many countries yesterday. Many of our people live in various other foreign countries. It is true that some of us live abroad, but we are a part of our country and land. What happens there directly affects us. Positive or negative developments matter to us. Our people in Europe should adopt an attitude in this election. We should not say that 'no, we are not interested in Turkey’s elections since we live abroad'.

'WE SHOULD VOTE TO CALL MASSACRES TO ACCOUNT'

Aydar continued: "The current regime in Turkey is a dictatorship and fascist regime. The regime run by Erdoğan has been shedding our blood and killing us for years. For the last 8 years, specifically since 2015, the North, West and South Kurdistan have been drenched in blood. They burned our youth and people alive in basements. They are using chemical weapons against our people. They have destroyed our cities, including Afrin and Serêkaniyê, and subjected our people to unbearable suffering. The AKP and Erdogan regime are responsible and perpetrators of all these massacres and destruction. Now, it is time for us to take revenge. We must avenge them with our vote and our will."

'VOTES IN EUROPE MAKE A DIFFERENCE'

Aydar added: “Our first goal is to hold this regime accountable and take revenge. Our second goal is to support the Labour and Freedom Alliance formed by the Kurds and their friends and to win as many parliamentary seats as possible. In the past elections, we were the first party in the polls in Europe. But we got very few votes in the places where electoral turnout remained low. Therefore, it should not be forgotten that voters in Europe contributed to winning parliamentary seats in the last election. For example, our party won one parliamentary seat in Kocaeli province with the votes from Europe. Overseas voters make a difference in winning elections.”

Aydar concluded: "We call on all our people, friends and allies to go to the polls and vote for the Green Left Party to hold this regime accountable."