60.7 million voters called to vote for the presidential and legislative elections

With our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer

All polling stations in Türkiye are now open. This represents just over 192,000 offices, to which 60.7 million voters are called; the Turks abroad, having already voted.

Turkish citizens have traditionally turned out in droves to vote, with turnouts over 80%. Given the importance of the issue – that is to say, essentially, the maintenance of power or the departure of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after 20 years of reign – we expect a strong mobilization of voters . Among Turks abroad, in any case, turnout reached 54% this year, four points more than in the previous elections in 2018.

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A vote under high security

After a particularly tense, even violent campaign, the day begins calmly. The Ministry of the Interior mobilized nearly 600,000 police, gendarmes and other personnel responsible for guaranteeing the security of the ballot.

The opposition, which says it has no confidence in the electoral authorities, has also taken precautions to ensure the regularity of the results. The alliance which supports Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, the main rival of Tayyip Erdogan, claims to be able to count on more than half a million assessors and observers in the polling stations.

Closing of the offices is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. UT)

>> To read also: The Turkish opposition wants to believe in a victory for Kemal Kiliçdaroglu

♦ Reporting

The choice of the opposition candidate was not easy, but Kemal Kiliçdaroglu succeeded in bringing together the various components of this opposition, reports our special correspondent in Istanbul, Guilhem Delteil, with Hasan Dizman.