Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaking in Istanbul on March 31. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN.

Turkish pro-government daily newspaper Yeni Safak reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP, will organise a rally in Sarajevo on May 20.

The event is part of Erdogan’s re-election campaign; he is running for the presidential office again as the country holds early general and presidential elections on June 24.

Yeni Safak reported that 10,000 Turkish people will be brought from European countries to the Bosnian capital for the rally. Local Bosniaks and Turks who reside in Bosnia and other Balkan countries are also expected to join in.

The decision to organise a rally in Sarajevo came after some Western European countries banned similar proposed events.

Over the past week, Austria, the Netherlands and Germany, where a significant number of the Turkish electorate live, announced that Turkish politicians’ election campaigns and related activities will be no longer be allowed.

“Turkey’s election campaigns are not wanted in Austria and we will not allow it anymore. We will stop all election campaigns and related activities of Turkish political parties in our country,” Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz told a press conference on April 20.

The decision sparked anger in Turkish pro-government circles.

“After European countries’ anti-democratic ban, the planned demonstration in Sarajevo will be Erdogan’s first showing abroad as part of his election campaign and this situation makes the Sarajevo demonstration more important,” Yeni Safak said.

Turkey’s newly-established lobby group in Bosnia, the Union of European Balkan Democrats, UEBD, which is branch of a wider Turkish lobbying organisation, the Union of European Turkish Democrats, UETD, which is known to be close to Erdogan, is believed to be the organiser of the Sarajevo gathering next month.

According to the Turkish foreign ministry, more than six million Turkish people live abroad, most of whom, 5.5 million, live in Western Europe.

This large diaspora, equal to almost eight per cent of Turkey’s population of 79.5 million, has become an important factor in Turkish elections.

These voters also played a key role in ensuring Erdogan’s narrow victory in the controversial 2017 referendum, which strengthened his powers.

On April 19, Erdogan and his ruling AKP decided to hold early general and presidential elections on June 24 – one-and-a-half years ahead of schedule.

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