On Thursday, Merkel visited Turkey for the first time since the failed coup attempt last July and met Erdogan. During her visit, Merkel stressed the importance of a free media and freedom of opinion in Turkey ahead of a vote on constitutional amendments that will abolish the country's parliamentary system.
"Turks living in Germany should not be an issue of tradeoff between the two leaders. Because Turks living in Germany could give their votes for Merkel and they also can give their votes for Erdogan on the upcoming referendum. So there should not be a bargaining between the two leaders," Yilmaz said.
Yilmaz expressed opinion that Erdogan did not believe in sincerity of the German chancellor and Merkel was also suspicious of Erdogan’s authoritarian presidency.
"There seems to be a lack of trust on both sides at the high level. Almost six months after the coup attempt, Merkel's visit was not too much welcomed in Ankara. We hope this visit will not be used for domestic consumption, given 2017 will be elections and referendum year in both countries," Yilmaz said.
On January 21, the Turkish parliament approved a constitutional reform bill. Turkey is now expected to hold a referendum in April, during which the citizens will vote on whether to replace the country’s parliamentary system of government with an executive presidency. German parliamentary elections will take place on September 24. Following the vote, Germany's chancellor is chosen by parliament and not by a direct vote.
The largest numbers of Turks, about three million people, outside Turkey live in Germany. All adult Turkish citizens with their primary residence in Germany are entitled to voting in Turkey. About half of all Turkish immigrants have retained their citizenship. The Turkish Law on Elections and Electoral Register was amended in 2008 to enable citizens living abroad to vote in general elections, the election of the president and referendums in Turkey. A final amendment to the electoral law from May 2012 regulated methods of external voting. The first time Turkish citizens residing abroad were able to vote in their countries of residence was the 2014 presidential elections.
