Perceptions of Domestic Voters towards Diaspora Voting

Abstract The matter of diaspora voting has been increasingly a topic of debate. More than 150 countries presently allow their diasporas to participate in elections, including Türkiye. This study aims to shed light on this topic by addressing the perceptions of domestic voters towards the Turkish diaspora voting in Türkiye’s elections. The data is based on a fieldwork study conducted in all 81 cities of Türkiye, with a total of 405 people interviewed after the May 2023 elections. The findings reveal that domestic voters’ approaches to diaspora voting are divided into three categories: support, conditional support and opposition. Whereas a few interviewees conditionally supported diaspora voting and some expressed full support, most opposed it, for several reasons, which are categorised in this study into seven distinct codes: residence, effect, conditions, interests, citizenship, tax and unfair.