Fights broke out between voters for Turkish elections in Amsterdam

The fights broke out during the counting of votes, just after the polls closed at 9 p.m. Dozens of people clashed. That took about two to three minutes, describes Ertugrul Kurt, who is involved in the elections in the RAI on behalf of the AK party. According to him, there was fighting between people from rival political parties. ,,I have been here for nine days, but I have not seen the people who provoked this before. They only came in just before 9 p.m..”

A week ago, people also started fighting with each other at the Rai. No one was arrested at the time. Sunday’s brawl was much bigger than last week, Kurt noticed. “That was just a small disturbance, that is part of it sometimes. This was much bigger. I think two people were injured, one of whom had a head injury.” According to him, the police acted very quickly.

Dozens of police officers had to act to calm things down. Police confirm that brawls broke out between several groups that were present. ‘Police officers and dog handlers acted to restore peace. We are still there with many police and emergency services. The ME is also on the scene, “said the police.

The atmosphere in the RAI is still tense after the police intervention, but peace has returned. “Some people are still a little scared. One girl was just standing here shaking,” says Kurt. According to him, only the slightly more than a hundred employees who work at the polling station are still inside to count the votes and secure the ballot papers. They will be taken to a safe place tonight, after which the consulate will take further care of them.

Images of a brawl in the event hall are circulating on social media. The images show a disturbance between several men at the voting location, which officers intervened. It is unknown if anyone was injured or if any arrests were made.

An employee of the Turkish consulate in Amsterdam, which organizes the elections in the RAI, said on Sunday evening that he was ‘not able to talk’ about what happened.

The reason for the brawl is still unclear, although there have been tensions between supporters of incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and those of the opposition for some time. This year it consists of six parties that have united, hoping to break Erdogan’s power after years.

The votes abroad are important to Erdogan. During the last elections in 2018, the votes of Turks living abroad were decisive. Nearly 75 percent of Turks living abroad voted for Erdogan.

In the Netherlands, about 250,000 Turkish-Dutch citizens are entitled to vote. Research by think tank Clingendael shows that 44 percent of the community does not vote. Those who do go could cast their vote until today in Deventer, The Hague and Amsterdam.

After voting, the ballots will go to Ankara and will be counted on May 14 – the day on which voting can take place in Turkey itself.