LIVE BLOG: Turkey heads to polls to elect new parliament
- More than 53 million Turkish citizens are expected to vote on new parliament
- The strength of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AKP) party after this Sunday’s parliamentary elections lies in the hands of a brand new pro-Kurdish party.
- A big win for the AKP could allow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to centralise presidential powers and push for the "New Turkey".
- A poor showing could force the party into a coalition government, a scenario that proved disastrous for the country in the 1990s.
Live Updates
A man injured as two bombs exploded at a pro-Kurdish HDP rally in the southeastern district of Diyarbakir on Friday, goes out to vote at today's parliamentary elections.
Leader of the nationalist MHP, Devlet Bahceli casts his vote in Ankara and speaks briefly to the press.
The leaders of all of the four main parties- ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), secular Republican's People's Party (CHP), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) have now cast their votes.
Leader of the main opposition party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu casts his vote in Ankara alongside his wife.
Kilicdaroglu said that depsite the unfair conditions of the elections, CHP had a good campaign with a high level of public interest.
Entrepreneurial vendors stand outside Okmeydani polling station Istanbul selling corn, pasteries and cold water bottles.
Speaking to MEE correspondent Shane Farrel, a taxi driver near Istanbul's Okmeydani district says he voted for the the ruling Development and Justice Party AKP.
"Since AKP came to power, social security and access to hospitals has greatly improved."
"I can travel to my hometown in Adana by plane at much cheaper prices than before. Why would I vote for someone else? CHP not trustworthy," he added.
President Recep Tayyip Edogan cast his vote in Usküdar, Istanbul as he has always done. There was large press and security presence and he was accompanied by his wife Emine and daughter Sumeyye.
According to local reports, in a short address after casting his vote, Erdogan emphaised the importance of stability and thanked all the election monitors.
Erdogan will remain in Istanbul tonight and will therefore not be joining Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on the balcony of the ruling AKP headquarters in Ankara.
Compared to the busy polling station of the working class Okmeydani district, voting was very relaxed and slow-paced in the affluent Cihangir district, reported MEE correspondent Shane Farrell.
One out of every four or five voters in Istanbul's Okmeydani district of mostly working class Turks, is casting his or her vote using thumb prints, says MEE correspondent Shane Farrel.
Although there seem to be several possibly illiterate voters, voting instructions can be seen outside polling stations.
This election has seen the highest levels of observers in Turkey's election history. Several grassroots and civil society organisations mobilised after the inconsistencies seen during the local elections in March 2014.
Energy Minister Yıidiz Taner has made assurances saying that all election points will be monitored and live broadcast for election security.
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A brawl at a voting center in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa has left 15 people injured, reported the Hurriyet Daily News.
Party representatives at the ballot box in the Eyyubiye district of Sanliurfa clashed with rifles, knives, clubs and stones.
Speaking to MEE correspondent Shane Farrel, a CHP voter in Istanbul's Okmeydani, a working class area of mostly conservative Turks, said she is voting for the secular CHP like the rest of her family.
"I want AKP to go; the future of Turkey would be much better if AKP goes."
"This is a very important election; it determines our future," she added.
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The Turkish government has allocated 404,000 security personnel to maintain security during the general elections.
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Selahattion Demirtas, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish HDP, cast his vote in Sultanbeyli, Istanbul.
After casting his vote, he made a short statement touching upon the injustices of the campaigning period but remained hopeful that Turkey would wake up a good result tomorrow.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has briefed the press that a suspect relating to the twin bombing of the HDP rally in Diyarbakır on6 June has been taken into custody.
"We condemned the [Diyarbakır twin bombing] in the strongest possible terms. We expressed full solidarity. It is a dirty hand who carried out the attack. It is an attack on all parties. On AK Party too. On the elections. An attack on the elections in an attack on democracy. No one should hesitate to go to the ballot box." He vowed to find the perpetrators and confirmed that a suspect had been taken into custody in the early hours of the morning.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu casts his vote in his hometown of Konya. He is expected to arrive in Ankara around 20:00 tonight.