Record number of Muslim candidates in German poll

The German Embassy will organize live coverage of the German elections on Sept. 22 for its expatriate community in the Kingdom. A record number of about 50 Muslims are standing as candidates in this year's elections.
German Ambassador Dieter W. Haller said Wednesday the embassy plans to host a special event on the day with live coverage of the electoral process and its impact on Europe’s largest economy.
Haller said Germans living in the Kingdom are using postal ballots to vote. "But every voter living in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries willing to cast his vote by absentee ballot must be registered in the electoral register of his municipality back home in Germany," said Haller. About 15,000 Germans live and work in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Asked about the total number of Muslim candidates in the fray, Haller said that there are no official figures based on religious allegiance of German voters or candidates because they do not have to provide information on their religious or ethnic background. However, nongovernmental organizations estimate that of the 4,551 candidates running in the parliamentary elections in 2013, 99 candidates have an immigrant background and about half of them are Muslims, he said.
Muslims, he said, are represent in all of the big political parties in the Bundestag including prominent politicians like the head of the Green Party Cem Ozdemir and the former Minister of Social Affairs in Lower Saxony Aygul Özkan (Christian Democratic Union), and Bilkay Öney (Social Democratic Party), who is a minister in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg.
He said "certain major conflicts and events in the Middle East could have an impact on the elections." He said German citizens are concerned about the suffering of the people in Syria and interested in developments in the region in general.
He said 598 members of the Bundestag would be elected. Elections are based on proportional representation with elements of a majority vote system. There are an estimated 61.8 million eligible voters in Germany out of a population of 80.2 million.
A close election is expected which makes the votes of Germany's large Muslim immigrant population important. Most of Germany's Muslims are of Turkish origin. Germany has over three million citizens of Turkish origin, forming over four percent of the population.