Turkey: 60.7 million voters called to vote in the presidential and legislative elections

2023-05-14T05:27:05.438Z

Highlights: Decisive day in Turkey. Polling stations opened at 8am, 5am GMT. 60.7 million voters called to vote in the presidential and legislative elections. Outgoing head of state, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will try to win a third term. His main rival, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, is given favorite by most polls. The Ministry of the Interior mobilized nearly 600,000 police, gendarmes and other personnel to guarantee the security of the election. The opposition, which says it does not trust the electoral authorities, has also taken precautions.

Decisive day in Turkey. Polling stations opened at 8am, 5am GMT. The country elects this Sunday, May 14 its president and its deputies. The outgoing Head of State, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will try to win...

Turkey: 60.7 million voters called to vote in the presidential and legislative elections

Voters queue outside a polling station in Istanbul, Turkey, May 14, 2023. REUTERS - HANNAH MCKAY

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

Decisive day in Turkey. Polling stations opened at 8am, 5am GMT. The country elects this Sunday, May 14 its president and its deputies. The outgoing head of state, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will try to win a third term but against him, his main rival, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, is given favorite by most polls.

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With our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer

All polling stations in Turkey are now open. This represents just over 192,000 polling stations, to which 60.7 million voters are called; Turks abroad have already voted.

Turkish citizens, traditionally, turn out en masse to vote, with turnout rates above 80%. Given the importance of what is at stake – that is, essentially, the maintenance in power or the departure of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after 20 years of rule – we expect a strong mobilization of voters. Among Turks abroad, in any case, turnout reached 54% this year, four points higher than in the previous elections in 2018.

>> READ ALSO: In Turkey, electoral face-to-face between an "all-powerful" president and the leader of the opposition

A high-security election

After a particularly tense, even violent campaign, the day begins calmly. The Ministry of the Interior mobilized nearly 600,000 police, gendarmes and other personnel to guarantee the security of the election.

The opposition, which says it does not trust the electoral authorities, has also taken precautions to ensure the regularity of the results. The alliance that supports Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, Tayyip Erdogan's main rival, says it can count on more than half a million assessors and observers in the polling stations.

Offices close at 17:00 (14:<> GMT)

>> READ ALSO: The Turkish opposition wants to believe in a victory of Kemal Kiliçdaroglu

Turkey: 60.7 million voters called to vote in the presidential and legislative elections

Turkey: 60.7 million voters called to vote in the presidential and legislative elections

A high-security election

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