COPENHAGEN -- As Turkey's August 10 presidential elections approach, many minority religious organizations in Europe with Turkish roots are urging followers living outside Turkey to vote for the only pro-Kurdish candidate in the race, Selahattin Demirtas. Besides Demirtas, who represents the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP), there are two other candidates: Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, an academic and former head of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC). After two terms as prime minister, Erdogan is now eyeing the presidency. Ihsanoglu, on the other hand, was officially nominated by the two main Turkish opposition parties, the Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). In addition to the 52 million eligible voters in Turkey, 2.7 million Turkish citizens living abroad also can vote, equivalent to five percent of the ballots. The Democratic Alevi Federation (FEDA) in Germany, founded by Kurdish Alevis, has openly declared its support for Demirtas. Hundreds of thousands of Alevis live in Europe, especially Germany. They are mixed Turks and Kurds and all have roots in Turkey, where approximately 10-20 percent of the population is Alevi. The largest of all Alevi organizations in Europe, the Union of Alevi Associations in Europe (AABK), has drawn attention by not declaring a favorite candidate, even though the polls are less than two weeks away. Although for generations Alevis have mostly voted for the CHP, this time most Alevi organizations criticize the CHP for nominating Ihsanoglu, because of his Islamic background. Erdogan is also excluded because of his party's Islamic roots. But Mazlum Dogan, co-chairman of the Alevi Youth organization in Germany which is part of AABK, told Rudaw he recommends Demirtas because "he is the only alternative" to Erdogan and Ihsanoglu. "Alevis are slowly realizing that CHP policy toward us so far has been a disadvantage for us. Earlier, we considered CHP as the only alternative to the Islamists in Turkey. But now there is a progressive alternative, namely HDP and Demirtas," said Dogan, a 21-year-old law student. Alevis want their places of worship, called Cem Houses, recognized by the state and a share of the state budget for religious affairs, which usually favors Sunni Islamic institutions. "While CHP's municipalities destroy Cem Houses in western Turkey, the (pro-Kurdish) BDP's municipalities and Demirtas' movement build Cem Houses for us in eastern Turkey," said Dogan. But there are also critical voices. Although HDP supports the rights of Alevis, they vote year-after-year for the budget of the religious affairs directorate, or Diyanet. "Demirtas has voted repeatedly for Diyanet's budget increases, so we remain doubtful of his sincerity," said Filiz Caglar Selcuk, the vice president of the European Alevi Women's Federation, who lives in the Netherlands. The Assyrian Federation in Sweden, which estimates some 80,000 members living in Scandinavian countries with roots in Turkey and other Middle Eastern countries, has not commented on Turkey's presidential elections. Spokesman Afram Yakoub, who is from Syria, said the federation is more concerned with the situation in Syria and Iraq, where the takeover of Christian areas by Islamic State (IS) militants is of greater concern to the Christian minority. However, Turkish Assyrian Yasar Kucukaslan, a spokesman for the Mesopotamian and Democratic Change Party in Sweden, defends Demirtas. "Erdogan is anti-democracy, Islamist and denies the rights of minorities. Ihsanoglu is Islamist and supported by Kemalist parties. Demirtas, on the other hand, defends coexistence and harmony between peoples and religions," said Kucukaslan. He said that the Assyrians in Turkey, the vast majority of whom have fled to the West over the years, require that their confiscated churches and monasteries are returned, and that the Turkish constitution guarantee the Assyrians' right to practice their culture, language and religion. Another minority interested in the elections is the Yezidis, whose greatest numbers in Europe are in Germany -- 100,000 out of a population of 120,000 -- according to the chairman of the Ezidi Culture Association in Denmark, Yilmaz Yildiz. The Yezidis are largely regarded as a religious minority inside the Kurdish nation. But unlike the majority of Kurds, who are Muslims, the Yezidis have their own controversial religious beliefs, leaving them open to attacks throughout history. Most Yezidis in Germany are from Turkey, but also from Syria and the Caucasian republics of Armenia and Georgia. The Union of Yezidi Associations in Germany (FKE), considered to be close to the Kurdish movement in Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), supports Demirtas. But Yildiz is boycotting the election, dismissing the other two parties and saying Demirtas' "policies do not have too much to do with Kurdishness." According to a poll conducted by the Turkey research institute Genar, Erdogan at the first round of presidential elections will receive 55 percent of the votes, with Ihsanoglu getting about 35 percent and Demirtas receiving 9 percent. Thus the votes for Demirtas will be wasted. But that does not bother Kucukaslan. "The important thing is not whether Demirtas wins or loses. The main thing is that for the first time in Turkey there is a third alternative, which supports real democratization," he said. If there is a second round, it will probably be between Erdogan and Ihsanoglu. The first round is scheduled for August 10, and a possible second round would take place two weeks later.