Voting in Turkey and abroad starts at 8 am local time until 5 pm

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
14 May 07:47

973 districts and 1,094 district election boards will hold a total of 191,885 ballot boxes to elect a new president and fresh members of parliament, who will serve a term of five years.

Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attend a rally ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections in Ankara, Turkey, on May 11, 2023. (Reuters)

After a long wait, the time has come and the voting for the presidential elections in Turkey will commence at 8 am local time (0500GMT) on Sunday and last until 5 pm (1400GMT).

973 districts and 1,094 district election boards will hold a total of 191,885 ballot boxes to elect a new president and fresh members of parliament, who will serve a term of five years.

A combined total of over 64.1 million voters will vote both in the country and abroad, including around 4.9 million who will vote for the first time in Turkey. The number of imprisoned voters is 53,172.

For those affected by the devastating Feb. 6 earthquakes, voters will be able to cast their ballots wherever they register their address, as nearly 133,000 voters from the earthquake-hit areas had their registrations transferred to other areas.

For the first time in voting history, the visually impaired will have a template prepared for them and sent to each ballot box.

Ballot box committees have been set in 73 countries alongside 156 foreign representations, as the voting process overseas ended on May 9. The votes, now stored in the Overseas District Election Board in Ankara, will be counted with other votes on Sunday.

All broadcasts will be released after 9 p.m. on Election Day, however, if deemed necessary by the YSK, it may be decided to release broadcasts at 9 p.m.

According to a poll by the Areda research organization, 51.3% of respondents plan to vote for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the first round of elections, while 44.2% plan to vote for the major opposition candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Sinan Ogan, the third contender, might earn about 4% of the vote.

A poll conducted by Rawest last week shows that the opposition alliance's candidate, Kilicdaroglu, may receive more than 66% of votes in three mainly Kurdish provinces.

In an interview with Al Mayadeen English, Turkish affairs expert Mahmoud Allouch clarified that Kilicdaroglu is relying on the Kurdish vote to secure his victory in the presidential elections during the first round, but “it is a challenging task to achieve a decisive outcome in the presidential elections during the initial round.”

The second round, which will be held if no candidate receives 50% of the vote, is set for May 28.