Politics
13:10, 24-Jun-2018
Polls close in Turkey's presidential, parliamentary elections
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Voting ended on Sunday in Turkey's presidential and parliamentary elections, which will decide the political future of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Polls across the country of 81 million people officially closed at 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT), with the results expected in the evening local time.
About 56.3 million Turkish people, including some three million residing abroad, were eligible to vote in Sunday’s elections.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by his grandchildren, casts his ballot at a polling station in Istanbul, Turkey on June 24, 2018. /VCG Photo
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by his grandchildren, casts his ballot at a polling station in Istanbul, Turkey on June 24, 2018. /VCG Photo
A total of six candidates are running for the presidency. If no candidate obtains over 50 percent of the votes in the first round on Sunday, a second round will take place on July 8.
The main focus of the presidency election has been on whether the new candidates will have a chance to rattle Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been leading the country for the last 15 years.
After the vote, a wide range of new powers approved in a 2017 referendum will come into force, including the switch to an executive presidency from the parliamentary system.
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