Polls open

Good morning MEE readers,

Millions of people in Turkey have begun voting in one of the most crucial elections in recent years, which has pitted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a tight race against the opposition’s joint presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Around 64 million are registered to vote with a high voter turnout of up to 85 percent expected.

Voters will decide om who will be their president for the next five years, and also selecting their 600-members parliament.

Three candidates are running for this year’s presidential election. Besides Erdogan of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) party and Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), there is Sinan Ogan of the far right Ancestral Alliance. 

Polls have predicted a tight race between Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu who need more than 50 percent of the vote to win. If neither candidate wins an outright majority, a run-off on 28 May between the two candidates with the most votes will be held.

More than 30 political parties and over 150 independent candidates will compete in the parliamentary elections.

There are five multiparty blocs in the running: the People's Alliance, Nation Alliance, Ancestral Alliance, Labor and Freedom Alliance, and Union of Socialist Forces Alliance.

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