Polls have opened in Türkiye for the presidential and parliamentary elections. The voting started at 8 am local time on Sunday and will continue until 5 pm.

Over 64 million people, including 3.4 million overseas voters, are eligible to participate in the elections, which coincide with the centenary of Türkiye's republic. The election date, May 14, holds significance as it commemorates Türkiye's first democratic election in 1950.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the current President and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), is seeking re-election as the joint candidate of the People's Alliance. This alliance includes the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and three other smaller parties, with support from the HÜDA PAR (Free Cause Party).

The Nation Alliance, consisting of six opposition parties including the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), has nominated Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of CHP, as its presidential candidate. The Alliance aims to revert Türkiye's governance system from a presidential to a parliamentary framework, which was implemented after the 2017 referendum. While not officially part of the alliance, the Green Left Party (YSP) and the Labour and Freedom Alliance, of which YSP is a member, have endorsed Kılıçdaroğlu.

Apart from Erdogan and Kılıçdaroğlu, two other candidates who collected 100,000 signatures are Muharrem İnce, the leader of the Homeland Party, and Sinan Oğan, nominated by the Ancestral Alliance, a secular nationalist group. However, İnce withdrew from the election three days prior, citing ongoing slander and smear campaigns by rival candidates, although his name will still appear on the ballots. If no candidate receives over 50% of the votes, a runoff between the top two candidates will take place on May 28.

Turkish voters must present their ID cards or official identification documents at polling stations. They receive separate ballot papers for the presidential and parliamentary elections, and mark their choices in private booths before placing them in envelopes. Taking photos or videos inside the booth is prohibited, and voters must leave their mobile phones outside.

After the voting concludes, the ballots for the presidential candidates are counted first, in the presence of the election body members, political party representatives, and interested citizens. Overseas votes have been sent to Türkiye by airmail and will be counted simultaneously with the domestic votes. The ballot boxes at customs gates were open from April 27 to May 9. (ILKHA)