Do you consider it reasonable for citizens living abroad to exercise their right to vote in national elections?
Posted by PieBright8211@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 58 comments
roctac@reddit
Yes. It is your right as a citizen to be able to vote. Who is to say you are not more or just as informed about domestic politics compared to a person living there. The Internet exists we all use it. Especially for political news.
reallybi@reddit
who cares? your vote afects actual citizens but it doesn't affect you so you shouldn't get one to begin with. also, the delusion and the audacity: "internet exists so i know better than the people living in that country", my ass.
roctac@reddit
Just because expat isn't there now doesn't mean they will never be there again in the future.
roctac@reddit
Guess what. Tough shit.
reallybi@reddit
Yawn
Double_Couple_988@reddit
Maybe for the presidential ones, but otherwise, nope. Just like those with dual citizenships.
ISupposeStillHuman@reddit
Dual citezenship is not the same .
Double_Couple_988@reddit
My point was - if you don't live in the country, you don't get to vote.
ISupposeStillHuman@reddit
No it wasn't "Just like those with dual citizenships." Doesn't mean that you wanted to say if you have dual citizenship you shouldn't be allowed to vote no matter where they live . Because it doesn't make any sense to add that statement since original question asks explicitly for voters outside of the country .
Jazzlike-Moose3123@reddit
No.
Thats why many Turks have problems with German/Turks. They vote conservative for elections here but they vote for left in Germany.
chillbill1@reddit
so you don' want them to vote because they don't vote what you want them to vote?
Jazzlike-Moose3123@reddit
No. I just wanted to point out hypocrisy
taraba707@reddit
I thought this was only the deal in ex-yu countries.
Plus, why are so many Turks in this sub? I know you were ruling over the Balkans for 500 years, but still
Tadimizkacti@reddit
We didn't JUST rule over Balkans, it was our homeland for 500 years.
Jazzlike-Moose3123@reddit
About 20% of the turkish population has balkan origins. Thats still more people than most countries in the balkans.
Shythexs@reddit
isnt it obvious? Even today’s Turkey has many balkan culture spread among regions. For example during family visits I noticed some of my relatives speak Turkish with Bulgarian accent. This is on the Eagean side of the country. There are many people with different cultures related to balkans on top of ours.
barugosamaa@reddit
A bit of an imposter here, since I am myself not balkan, but living with a balkan woman, but we both share same opinion here.
I am the opinion that I should not be able to vote in Portugal, since I moved to Germany in 2013. I also havent voted since I left.
If my vote contributes for the country to go dogshit, I do not suffer the consequences, so why should my opinion matter?
RandomPersonYouSee@reddit
Yes- But they should vote for seats reserves for them, not for general seats.
chillbill1@reddit
Apparently I have an unpopular opinion:
I consider that as long as you can't vote in the country you are in, you should be able to vote back home.
Also, there are many things tied to a citizenship, one of them being the right to vote. And I think democracy would have to lose if this wouldn't be allowed anymore.
But: as i read through here, I only think that people are aginst is just because they don't vote they way they are expected.
RevolutionaryFeed259@reddit
Another vote for no. It's a dogshit system that we have in some countries, allowing emigrants to vote on matters that don't affect them.
Hungry_Battery_Eater@reddit
Absolutely not, unless they really know what the country needs. That's what's bringing our country down, diaspora who never set foot in the nation being allowed to vote. The only reasons I'd be voting in the next election is because I lived there for a year, I didn't just go for vacation.
ParanoicFatHamster@reddit
It pretty much depends. I am not against it. Somebody can live in their own country for almost all life and then travel abroad for a job only for some years (or a period of time), I do not see why they should lose their right of vote. Moreover, this person does not have the right to vote in the new country of residence, because it is not that easy to get citizenship.
Maybe it is a little bit of an outlier opinion, but in general I do not see anything wrong with people who do not live in the country anymore, would have the right to vote. Maybe their experiences in the new country can help them to see the world with different eyes. Finally, I do not see why people who are not abroad and live all their life in their country, should have any priority. They are not smarter, usually they make stupid decisions as well. I would prefer a filter based on the IQ rather than residence.
However, I am against the right to vote for people who only have roots and they never had any real connection with the country of their parents.
When we speak about losing the right to vote, most of the people have a strong opinion. However, when we speak about responsibilities, such as military responsibilities the country never forgets. It is fair only when it is convenient for them.
tejanaqkilica@reddit
Yes, absolutely. But not like we (Albania) did it last time with mailing ballots. You want to vote, you show up to the nearest embassy/consulate and you vote there.
Separate-Worry7374@reddit
I'm a citizen who lives abroad and no. I'll only vote untill I see AKP's gone and trialed for their crimes because they're the reason I've moved in the first place.
After that, I'll no longer vote because I've no intention of living in Turkey anymore so I should have no say over it.
No_Listen5664@reddit
So you are part of the 'problem' aswell then, no? Even if you vote anti-AKP it is still the same thought. Why would you vote in a country where you don't live and even don't plan on living.
Separate-Worry7374@reddit
Yes, I am. My reasoning is completely selfish because I feel a deep hatred towards AKP and everthing it represents. I've left the country 3 months ago so i guess my spite is still fresh and i myself also hope to move on.
I can't say I care about Turkey anymore tbh I just want to harm AKP.
No_Listen5664@reddit
Ok, just saying its hypocritical. For me it doesn't matter if people vote. At the end of the day they have a passport of that country and that country has some sway over them. Be it directly or indirectly (like family still living there). Hell, there could be a party that would call for the revoking of passports of people that live abroad, people sure would like to have a vote over that. Or that foreign nationals need to pay taxes (like in the US).
IF people really wanted to disconnect from a country they would revoke their citizenship themselves. But I guess this is an unpopular opinion here.
caesarj12@reddit
No. You want to have a say on how things go you must suffer here with us, not from your EU apartment.
You want to have a say so you can return when things get better? You contribute to make things better. You don't find them ready.
HorrorsPersistSoDoI@reddit
That's why they left in the first place, because they wanted to go where things are already good. They didn't want to stay and help make everything better
floare_salbatica@reddit
You're painting it with a broad brush. People leave for different reasons, sometimes against their will. Maybe you should see it from a less judgemental perspective, life abroad is not easy for many emigrants and you don't know what they're going through away from home.
reallybi@reddit
ok but who cares? they don't live here so they shouldn't get a say
floare_salbatica@reddit
I just don't understand this mentality us vs them. I was still living abroad when the whole Georgescu scandal happened and it was fucking annoying to see that the diaspora was used as a scapegoat. No, not all of us were sugeranisti. There are plenty of them living in Romania.
reallybi@reddit
nu doar Georgesc, ci alte si alte alegeri au fost deturnate de votul diasporei, cea mai faimoasa fiind Basescu 2.0
HorrorsPersistSoDoI@reddit
Of course I am painting it with a broad brush man. I don't care to empathize with every single individual's life story. In the end of the day I have my own problems. I only care about the people at large, because that's what affects me and all around me.
reallybi@reddit
No, and we have so many and they always sway the elections for the worse. You went away, nothing that happens here affects you, therefore you have no business influencing what happens here.
HorrorsPersistSoDoI@reddit
Some of them will be like "Well yeah, but my parents live there still". Well then they can go and vote, you stay where you are and fuck yourself
reallybi@reddit
Exactly
Andioop8384767@reddit
Nope. They don’t live or pay taxes here
Th3Dark0ccult@reddit
I moved 6-7 years ago and I haven't voted in my country's elections since, cause I remember how angry I was that people in Turkyie with double citizenship kept voting even though they don't live in Bulgaria and in 99% of cases don't even know one word in bulgarian.
My brother, on the other hand, who is very conservative never misses an election, despite not living in Bulgaria himself. And he always votes for the most far right, ultranationalist party there currently is.
Apatride@reddit
Most citizens don't know enough about politics to vote in an informed way, no matter where they live.
This being said, as an ex-pat, I would consider that you should only be allowed to vote for one election cycle if you live abroad. After that, it means you have been gone for 4-5 years at least and you are deciding for other people while you are not directly impacted which is not reasonable.
merdeauxfraises@reddit
Not expat. Immigrant.
As a fellow immigrant, I agree with you however.
ISupposeStillHuman@reddit
That seems like good idea
merdeauxfraises@reddit
Yes and no. I am a citizen abroad and up until recently I intended to return to my native country. This means I had a vested interest to vote. Now that i do not intend to return, it feels almost unethical to decide for the people who actually stay in the country, despite the fact that I am progressive anyway and it would probably be for the best since my country's problem is that it's stuck in its old ways.
CryptographerKind632@reddit
No. Don't live in the mud with us don't have a say on how to get out of it. Plus they vote how the popular thing is in their residential area and bring political themes that mostly have nothing do to with the internal struggle.
P-l-Staker@reddit
I think voting should be residency-based, not citizenship-based.
Why would a national who lives permanently abroad vote for things back home? Why would someone with permanent residency, who's lived here for a decade, not be able to?
Professional-Ad2304@reddit
Let's say you are a politician that wants to participate in the next year's elections, but only your family votes for you and everybody else with citizenship of your country doesn't want to vote for you. You can bring people from any country in the world and give them residency if they vote for you.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO? And i don't even want to go in dept with bringing people and giving residency just for your vote. See why only citizenship matters?
kureysalp@reddit
This sounds familiar.
P-l-Staker@reddit
And have them wait for like 5 to 10 years?! Yeah, that's a very viable strategy! 😂
For the avoidance of doubt, I am talking about legal status. Not simply being somewhere on a visa.
TP76@reddit
So... Residency based... You have xx milion of muslims born in Germany for example. Or just living there. They vote... They install their laws and very fast you have muslim country in EU. And then the begin to spread toward other countries... EU, nonEU, Balkan... No. Don't allow them to vote.
floare_salbatica@reddit
I lived abroad for almost 14 years. Back then I was almost completely estranged from the reality back home. So, no, I would have not considered it unfair if my right was revoked.
TP76@reddit
I was warned by reddit automated system. Let's try again...
No. One group can use that for their agenda. They should vote in the country where they live and are born.
HorrorsPersistSoDoI@reddit
There are very few things in life that I am totally, deathly against, and this is one of them. If you are permanently living abroad, and are just visiting your country for a vacation, then you can just fuck right off. You already made your choice where you want to live and to which economy you want to contribute, you should not decide who gets to rule me in my own country.
SB1985@reddit
Against. Simply because they don't even live or pay taxes here.
To them it's like a football game, to us it's a problem..
And considering their voting habbits, they seem to forget why they left the country in the first place.
ISupposeStillHuman@reddit
No People who escaped failed societys in Balkanas Could be living in bubble , not knowing any suffering of their fellow citizens .
taraba707@reddit
Naravno da ne. Ukidaj to koliki god mali postotak bio.
branimir2208@reddit
In some way but their vote should be less powerful than domestic vote.
mikewazoski59@reddit
No
Worried-Owl-9198@reddit
No for instance, how healthy is it for a member of the diaspora who was born and raised in Germany and sees Turkey only as a summer vacation spot to vote while being completely disconnected from the country's realities and fed only by pro government media? How fair is it for someone who is oblivious to the daily struggles of a country they don't live in to determine the fate of the people residing there?