Turkey elections live: Polls open in pivotal vote
Turkish voters have started to line up in large numbers outside schools and other public buildings to cast their votes in the early hours on Sunday after weeks of fierce campaigning.
In Ankara’s Cankaya neighbourhood, a main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) stronghold, there were stands outside the school, offering free tea and Simit, a popular bagel-like Turkish bread.
As Middle East Eye’s Turkey Bureau Chief Ragip Soylu walked inside the building, he bumped into a senior official of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration.
He said he just travelled to Ankara to vote and was preparing to return to Istanbul to be with the president.
Erdogan, following his tradition, is voting in Istanbul and then will follow the results for his residence in the Uskudar district.
Both Erdogan and his main rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the CHP completed their election campaigns in symbolic ways, underlining the historic fault lines that exist in Turkey.
Kilicdaroglu visited Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s mausoleum in the capital, offering his respects to the founder of the modern Republic of Turkey and the symbol of secularism in Turkey.
Erdogan on the other hand visited religious cleric Hasan Kilinc in Istambul’s historic Fatih district before joining the evening prayer at Hagia Sophia, a symbol of Turkey’s Islam-inspired political past.
Erdogan reconverted the ancient temple into a mosque in 2020, overturning Ataturk’s decision to make it a museum during his rule.
The president then recited verses from the Holy Quran and gave a speech on the unity needed for the Muslims.
Both leaders campaigned all over the country for weeks, holding more than 40 rallies.
But the twin earthquakes in February, which killed more than 50,000 people, and the observation of the holy month of Ramadan shortly after led to a largely calm campaign period until the last two weeks.
Public polls indicate the race is neck and neck between the two, but a runoff is likely.
Kilicdaroglu maintained his popularity for the last two weeks but Erdogan managed to rally his base as well in recent days.
A broadcast ban on the election results is expected to be lifted around 7:30 – 8:00 pm local time.
