SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Polling at Turkish missions in Balkan states for Turkey's general elections has come to an end with 2,721 Turks participating in the process.
The general election officially begins on June 7 in Turkey.
A total of 878 people voted in Bosnia and Herzegovina; 816 in Macedonia, 531 in Albania and 546 in Kosovo, according to Turkish embassy and consulate officials.
The overall number of eligible voters in the Balkan region is estimated at 24,000. About 3, 800 voters were eligible in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia, where voting began Saturday and concluded Sunday; about 2,304 voters were eligible in the Kosovar capital of Pristina and the Albanian capital of Tirana, where voting began and ended on Sunday.
Nuray Turkyilmaz had driven for three hours to cast her vote at the Turkish embassy in Sarajevo.
"I am proud of my state and its numerous modernization in the past 10 years…I am grateful to Turkey for allowing me to cast my vote abroad…God willing, Turkey will continue its success," Turkyilmaz told Anadolu Agency Saturday.
According to Turkey's Supreme Election Board, 112 polling stations have been set up for almost three million Turkish nationals living abroad.
Elections in Turkey have the second-highest voter turnout among developed democracies, according to a report released by the Washington-based Pew Research Center.
More than 84 percent of the electorate went to the polls in the 2011 general election, according to the report comparing turnout rates in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development member states.
The upcoming June elections will elect 550 members of the Turkish parliament from 20 political parties. This will be the country's 25th general election.
