European Parliament elections kicked off in the Netherlands on Thursday. The polls will continue in other European countries in the coming days. The four-day process will end on Sunday.
“The elections in Germany will take place on Sunday. This time it is very important for us and all other parties,” Seyran Papo, a parliamentarian representing Schleswig-Holstein state on the ticket of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), told Rudaw’s Diaspora program presented by Hemn Abdulla on Thursday. She called on the Kurdish diaspora in Germany to cast their votes on Sunday.
“Unfortunately, this time no Kurds have run for the elections. But we know that the Kurdish community is large here. Their number is around two million. Eighty percent of them have German citizenship. This means that we can change the fate of Germany with our votes,” Papo said.
Kurds’ failure to show up in the polling stations will boost the votes of the populist parties, she warned. She believes that lack of Kurdish candidates does not mean Kurds should boycott the elections.
“We should not say we should stay at home and let the politicians and populist parties grow larger… This is the first time that people aged 16 can cast their votes,” noted the Kurdish lawmaker.
Almost 360 million people are eligible to cast their votes in the elections. The minimum voting age varies from one country to another. In most European countries the minimum age is 18 but for the first time in Germany people aged 16 are allowed to vote.
Thousands of candidates are racing for 720 seats at the European legislature.
Mohammad Eibo is a leadership member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Joining the Diaspora program, he agreed with Papo that Kurds should take part in the elections to prevent the anti-immigration parties win.
They both feared a potential victory for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) - a far-wing populist party which opposes immigration to Germany.
“These elections are very important. I know that many Kurdish youths will cast their votes and their votes will change many things during the election day,” Eibo said.
“The influence of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) on the policy of Germany and Europe as a whole will be huge if their votes increase because nationalist parties like this one want to separate from Europe while the objective of the union is to create coexistence and help one another,” he noted.
He added that this “problem” exists in many other European countries.
No Kurds are running for the elections on his party’s ticket either.
