Abstract

Article 67 of the 1982 Constitution “All Turkish citizens over eighteen years of age shall have the right to vote in elections and to take part in referenda. The exercise of these rights shall be regulated by law.” governs its provisions Article 94/A of the Law No. 298 on Basic Provisions of Elections and Electoral Registers, to which the Constitution refers; “In the voting of foreign voters; Depending on the election type and the situation of the foreign country, the Supreme Election Council decides on the application of ballot box, customs gates voting or electronic voting methods together or separately, taking the opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. and “Overseas voters can vote in general parliamentary elections, Presidential elections and referendums.” formatted. Thus, the citizens of the Republic of Turkey living abroad have been given legal guarantees to vote outside the customs gates, and in the 2014 Presidential Elections, the citizens of the Republic of Turkey living abroad cast their votes for the first time in a doctrinal sense, having the right to vote abroad The first regulations regarding the voting rights of citizens living abroad were made in the second half of the 19th century. Today, nearly 150 countries have established legal regulations on this issue and the practices continue. This practice, which can generally be classified as "the right to vote of citizens living abroad", also has many differences arising from the national legislation of the countries. The active participation of those who do not permanently reside in a particular country in the process of deciding the fate of that geography is a matter of debate. The compatibility of the people who will not be directly or indirectly affected by the decision of the authority that will take office at the end of the election process, to have a say in the decision-making mechanisms, with the basic principle of determining the governed and the governed, which the concept of election aims at, should be examined in a legal context. In this study, the right to vote of citizens living abroad is explained. In this context, first of all, the historical origin, reasons and consequences of this right are stated through country examples. By explaining the regulations in the national legislation of the countries that grant the aforementioned right to their citizens, a comparative analysis has been made with the provisions of our national legislation.

Keywords: Right To Vote, Right To Engage In Political Activity, Universal Suffrage, Election, Overseas Voters.