Elections in Türkiye Run Without Incident

On Sunday, the presidential and parliamentary elections that Turkey is holding are taking place without notable incidents.

RELATED: 

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu Cast Vote in P & P Elections

From 08:00 local time, some 61 million voters began to cast their vote in the 192,000 ballot boxes arranged throughout the country.

The influx of voters occurs normally even in the southeastern provinces, which were devastated by two earthquakes that caused some 50,000 deaths in February.

"The most important thing that can be said after voting is that the process has gone smoothly so far," said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who exercised his right to vote in Istanbul.

Although the electoral authorities have not yet released participation data, the influx of citizens to the polls is very fluid. In Turkey, where voting is compulsory, turnout usually exceeds 80 percent of those authorized to vote.

According to the provisions currently in force, news related to the elections may not be disseminated until 6:00 p.m. local time and the electoral results may only be disseminated after 9:00 p.m. local time. The Electoral Commission, however, can lift this veto earlier.

"More than 30 political parties and over 150 independent parliamentary candidates will compete in the elections," AA news agency recalled, adding that "there are five multiparty blocs in the running: the People's Alliance, Nation Alliance, Ancestral Alliance, Labor and Freedom Alliance, and Union of Socialist Forces Alliance."