Turkish citizens in Germany have started voting at a record number of polling stations for Turkey's parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14. The election poses the biggest electoral

threat to President Tayyip Erdogan in his two decades in power. Germany has the world's largest Turkish diaspora, which has traditionally shown strong support for Erdogan and his AK party.

However, the Turkish president is trailing in opinion polls, and the deep cost of living crisis and collapse of the lira currency have led some to view the election as a potential turning point for how Turkey is governed. The 2017 referendum that gave Erdogan near unchecked authority and weakened parliament will also be tested.

Some 1.5 million Turkish citizens in Germany are eligible to vote, and they have until May 9 to submit their ballots. The German foreign ministry has approved 16 polling stations for all the cities where Turkey has consulates, up from 13 in 2018.

However, pro-government Turkish media has criticized Germany for not allowing Turkey to double the number of polling stations. Despite this, Turkish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee head, Akif Cagatay Kilic, called for citizens in Germany to take responsibility for their country and use their right to vote. Photo by Swapnil1101, Wikimedia commons.