A voter casts his ballot at a polling station in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 14, 2023. Turkish citizens headed to the polls on Sunday for twin presidential and parliamentary elections that could shape the Turkish political landscape for the upcoming years. (Photo by Omer Kuscu/Xinhua)
ANKARA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Turkish citizens headed to the polls on Sunday for twin presidential and parliamentary elections that could shape the Turkish political landscape for the upcoming years.
The polls opened at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) and will close at 5 p.m. (1400 GMT) local time. Unofficial results are expected after 9 p.m. (1800 GMT) local time.
Some 61 million voters are registered to cast their ballots. Around 3.5 million voters living abroad have been called to cast their votes in advance. More than 1.76 million Turks abroad have cast their votes at diplomatic missions and customs gates between April 27 and May 9.
The polls could stretch incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rule into a third decade or could set Türkiye on a new course.
According to pollsters, Erdogan, 69, is facing his toughest test yet during his 20-year rule. Erdogan, founder and leader of the conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP), has been leading the country since he became prime minister in 2003.
There are three presidential candidates, however. Erdogan's chief opponent is Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74, the leader of the center-left People's Republican Party (CHP), who might have a chance of winning for the first time as he is backed by a bloc of opposition parties, according to surveys. The third candidate Sinan Ogan is appealing for nationalist votes. A fourth presidential contender, Muharrem Ince, withdrew from the race on Thursday.
If no presidential candidate wins over 50 percent of the vote on Sunday, there will be a runoff vote on May 28. ■
A voter casts her ballot at a polling station in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 14, 2023. Turkish citizens headed to the polls on Sunday for twin presidential and parliamentary elections that could shape the Turkish political landscape for the upcoming years. (Photo by Omer Kuscu/Xinhua)
A voter casts her ballot at a polling station in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 14, 2023. Turkish citizens headed to the polls on Sunday for twin presidential and parliamentary elections that could shape the Turkish political landscape for the upcoming years. (Photo by Omer Kuscu/Xinhua)
A voter casts his ballot at a polling station in Ankara, Türkiye, May 14, 2023. Turkish citizens headed to the polls on Sunday for twin presidential and parliamentary elections that could shape the Turkish political landscape for the upcoming years. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
This photo taken with a mobile phone shows a voter casting his ballot at a polling station in Ankara, Türkiye, May 14, 2023. Turkish citizens headed to the polls on Sunday for twin presidential and parliamentary elections that could shape the Turkish political landscape for the upcoming years. (Xinhua/Li Zhenbei)