Polls open in Türkiye for presidential, parliamentary elections

Polls have opened across Türkiye on Sunday morning for the country's presidential and parliamentary elections.

Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking another term in office, while the opposition candidates are Kemal Kilicdaroglu of Nation's Alliance and Sinan Ogan of Ata Alliance.

The Supreme Election Board (YSK) announced earlier that more than 64 million citizens are eligible to vote in the elections on 14 May, including more than 3 million voters abroad.

A total of 191,885 ballot boxes have been set up for voters in the country.

The polls will close at 5 pm local time and the first results are expected to start coming in shortly after that.

Voters in Türkiye need to show their identity cards or other official identification documents at polling stations. Then, each voter is given two separate ballot papers, one for the presidential election and one for the parliamentary election. Voters mark their ballot papers in the booth and then place in envelopes.

According to the Turkish electoral body, voters are not allowed to take any photos or videos inside the booth and they leave their mobile phone outside.

After voting ends, the ballots cast for the presidential candidates are counted first in the presence of balloting committee which consists of the members of the Turkish election body and political parties as well as citizens who wish to remain there.

All citizens can vote

The Turkish electoral body has taken steps to make voting easier for all citizens, regardless of their physical abilities.

For those who are unable to leave their homes or hospital beds, mobile ballot boxes are set up. These boxes are brought to the voter's location, so they can cast their vote privately.

Alternatively, voters can be transported to ballot boxes with the help of ambulances for free. The electoral body has also provided special voting templates for visually impaired citizens. These templates have large print and Braille, so that visually impaired citizens can vote independently and confidentially.

These initiatives ensure that all citizens can participate in the democratic process with dignity.

Expat votes have been brought to Türkiye by airmail and they will be counted at the same time as the votes cast in Türkiye. Balloting at customs gates began on April 27 and ended on May 9.

In general elections, a political party must receive 7 percent of the votes nationwide for any of its candidates to win a seat in parliament. Only the alliance needs to pass the 7-percent threshold in order for the parties to claim seats in parliament.

In election day news media organisations are not allowed to broadcast any political advertising, predictions or comments about the elections until 6:00 pm (1500GMT). Between 6:00 pm (1500GMT) and 9:00 pm (1800GMT), media outlets will only be able to publish official announcements about the elections issued by the Supreme Election Council.

While selling alcoholic beverages will be banned from 6:00 am (0300GMT) to 12:00 am (2100GMT), the consumption of alcoholic beverages will also be prohibited in public places.

READ MORE: 6 things to know about Türkiye's electoral system