Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's high votes from Belgium in the elections on May 14 disturbed the Flemish Regional Government Minister of State for Equal Rights and Combating Poverty, Zuhal Demir.
Criticizing the voters abroad who voted for Erdoğan, Demir said, "Erdoğan is much more popular in the Flemish region than in Türkiye. He got 72 percent of the vote.''
''European Turks are doing some kind of electoral doping. The only way to stop the brainwashing of Turks in the Flemish region is to make it impossible to vote for Erdoğan." she added.
Demir called for "removing dual citizenship or reducing it to a symbolic form that does not recognize the right to vote."
AK Party Spokesperson Ömer Çelik slammed the remarks of Demir on his Twitter account by saying: "Belgian Minister Zuhal Demir's targeting of our citizens living abroad who voted for our President is deeply concerning. We firmly condemn her statement. It is alarming to witness a minister in an EU country resorting to the language reminiscent of European fascists."
''Our citizens will once again respond to this distorted mentality through democratic means. Being well-informed about President Erdoğan's ongoing efforts in combating this distorted mentality, our citizens are likely to demonstrate even stronger support for our President. They understand the importance of standing against such mentalities and will make their voices heard accordingly.'' Çelik said.
