Turkish voters go to polls in local elections

By Dilara Hamit

Polling in Türkiye’s local elections began Sunday with more than 61 million voters eligible to cast ballots in the country's 81 provinces.

Voting started at 7 a.m. local time and will continue through 4 p.m. in 32 eastern provinces and in the remaining provinces, polling stations will open at 8 a.m. and close at 5 p.m.

Some 1.32 million young people are voting for the first time. With candidates from 34 political parties competing, more than 206,000 polling stations have been set up nationwide.

A total of 81 provincial, 973 district, and 390 township mayors along with 50,336 mukhtars, as well as provincial general assembly and municipal council membership elections will be elected.

Voters living in larger cities are casting votes for metropolitan municipality mayor, municipality mayor, municipal council membership, as well as mukhtars and elder council. Those cities are Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Aydin, Balikesir, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Ordu, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Tekirdag, Trabzon and Van.

In other provinces, voters are casting their votes for provincial council membership, municipal mayor, municipal council membership, mukhtars and elder council. In villages, votes will be cast for provincial council membership, mukhtars and elder council.

- Political parties

The major competing parties are the governing Justice and Development (AK) Party, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Good (IYI) Party and the Peoples' Democratic Party (DEM Party).

Other parties are the Left Party, Great Unity Party, Homeland Party, Motherland Party, Democratic Left Party, Welfare Party, Communist Party of Türkiye, Anatolian Union Party, Victory Party, Peoples' Liberation Party, Communist Movement of Türkiye, Independent Türkiye Party, Future Party, New Türkiye Party, Labor Party, Free Cause Party, Rights and Freedoms Party, Ocak Party, Justice Union Party, Democrat Party, Power Union Party, National Path Party, Justice Party, Bright Democracy Party, Türkiye Workers' Party, Democracy and Progress Party, Felicity Party and Homeland Party.

Election campaigns ended Saturday and a broadcast ban took effect across the country ahead of the elections.

According to the ban imposed by the Supreme Election Council (YSK), media organizations will not be allowed to broadcast political advertising, predictions or comments about the polls until 6 p.m. on Sunday.

The YSK reserves the right to lift the bans before 9 p.m. on Sunday.