A group of Turkish citizen voted in a referendum on a constitutional package that will increase President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s powers in traditional Ottoman dress at the Turkish Consulate in Strasbourg, the Birgün daily reported on Saturday.
According to the report, opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) representatives at the polling center objected to people casting their votes in Ottoman costumes, but the head of the polling center allowed them to proceed in line with people’s freedom in France to dress the way they choose.
Europe is home to an estimated 2.5 million Turkish citizens eligible to vote. Over 3 million Turks, of whom 1.4 million are on the voting rolls, live in Germany. The idea of the re-creation of the Ottoman Empire, which has been used in TV serials, movies and in other arts in Turkey, has been promoted by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in recent years.
Turkey’s relations with various European countries have recently become strained due to the cancellation of rallies planned to be held by Turkish ministers in order to seek the support of Turkish expatriates for a referendum in Turkey on April 16.