Voting for Turkey’s crucial parliamentary and presidential elections that could end Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 20-year term began today at 08:00 (05:00 GMT) and will last until 17:00 (15:00). 12:00 a.m. GMT). We’ll be tuning in live on Euronews to hear the results.
Around 61 million Turks can vote in more than 192,000 ballot boxes for the 600 members of parliament and choose from three candidates who will be the new president for the next five years: Erdogan, the social democrat Kemal Kiliçdaroglu and the nationalist Sinan Ogan.
Turkey votes this Sunday in a momentous election that could extend President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s more than two-decade tenure or steer the predominantly Muslim nation onto a more secular course.
Polls show that Erdoğan’s challenger for the presidency, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, is increasingly in the lead. Both candidates are competing for more than 50% of the vote to avoid a second round in two weeks.
A large turnout is expected from the 64 million registered voters in the country.
In the last national elections, Erdogan won 52.5% with a turnout of over 86%.
The latest polls point to a narrow lead for opposition presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The opposition, too, is concerned about the tensions in the atmosphere and wonders what kind of reaction Erdogan can make in the event of victory. Erdogan recently responded in a live interview that if that were the case, he would resign peacefully, but also said he didn’t expect it. Official results are expected in the late afternoon.
Ogan will get no more than 3%, enough to deprive the two candidates with options of the votes needed to achieve that majority.
In the parliamentary elections, the polls find it unlikely that the coalition of Erdogan’s party, the Islamist AKP, with the ultra-nationalist MHP will renew its absolute majority, although the alliance of the social-democratic CHP with the nationalist IYI would not achieve it either, so it would be decisive the Left Party HDP.
News related to the elections may not be circulated before 18:00 local time (15:00 GMT) and the press may not publish the results until 21:00 local time (18:00 GMT), although the Electoral Commission does can veto earlier.
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