Opposition MP submits bill seeking voting ban on Syrians with Turkish citizenship

BY| Ahval News

A Turkish main opposition party lawmaker has submitted a draft bill calling for a voting ban those who have recently been granted Turkish citizenship, Duvar news site reported on Thursday.

The proposal from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker  Mathmut Tanal targets Turkey’s Syrian community and arrives as the country is counting down to the presidential and parliamentary elections slated for the summer of 2023.

The CHP deputy’s draft bill calls for an amendment to the Turkish citizenship law, no. 5901, and aims to prevent violations of Turkish citizens’ rights to vote and be elected, Duvar said. 

Speaking on Turkey’s migrant community, CHP’s Tanal said there would not represent the real will of the Turkish nation, according to Duvar.

Turkey’s “democratic order” can be ensured with the reflection of the
“real will of the Turkish nation,” Tanal said.

Turkey has granted citizenship to 200, 950 Syrian migrants while 500,000 Syrian nationals have voluntarily returned home from Turkey as of March 31, the Turkish Interior Minister announced earlier this year.

Turkey hosts the world’s largest refugee population with 3.7 million Syrians under temporary protection and over 320,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mostly from Afghanistan, under international protection, according to official figures. 

Syrian migrants in the country have been faced with growing anti-refugee sentiment as opposition parties question Ankara’s policies and vow to ensure their return home if elected to power.