Turkish expats begin voting in Northern Cyprus

By Murat Demirci

LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (AA) - Turkish expats in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus began casting votes in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday.

Speaking to the media, an official at Turkey's Lefkosa Embassy, Ertugrul Demirci, said there are 106,530 registered Turkish voters.

The voters can cast ballots at the 20 Temmuz High School in Lefkosa until June 18, 9 p.m. local time.

Germany, Austria, and France were among the first countries in Europe where voting began on June 7.

In Turkey, voters will go to the polls on June 24.

Over 3 million Turks living abroad are eligible to vote for the presidential and general elections.

Six candidates are running for president, while eight political parties are taking part in the parliamentary elections.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has served as president since 2014 -- Turkey's first popularly-elected president. Before that, he served as prime minister from 2003 to 2014.

Should he win the June election, Erdogan would be Turkey's first leader under the presidential system.

Turkish citizens living abroad and traveling to Turkey this month can also cast their votes at custom gates until 5 p.m. local time on June 24.