The Justice and Development Party led by President Erdogan (center) seeks to regain the position of mayor of Istanbul (Anatolia)
Polling stations opened their doors on Sunday for Turkish voters to cast their votes in the municipal elections, to determine which of the main competing parties will control the largest cities in the country.
Sunday's vote follows parliamentary and presidential elections held last year, in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan extended his rule after two decades in power.
The elections will be closely monitored in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, as well as in the capital, Ankara, among other industrial centers.
Ekrem Imamoglu, Mayor of Istanbul and candidate of the Republican People's Party, is seeking to win another 5-year term.
By winning the 2019 local elections, Imamoglu ended 25 years of rule by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its conservative predecessors in Istanbul, which has a population of 16 million.
Opinion poll estimates indicate a rapprochement between Imamoglu and his rival, the Justice and Development Party candidate, former Minister Murat Korum.
About 61 million people are entitled to vote, and preliminary results are expected to be issued by ten o’clock local time (seven o’clock GMT).
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the allocation of about 600,000 personnel to ensure security during the local elections.
Yerlikaya explained that all parties participating in the election race ran their election campaigns in an atmosphere of security and peace.
Source: Agencies