UPDATE - Polling stations close nationwide as Turkish local elections wrap up

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY SUPREME ELECTION COUNCIL CHAIRMAN

By Dilara Hamit and Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) — Polling stations across Türkiye closed on Sunday as voting in the country's local elections ended at 5 p.m.

Candidates from a total of 34 political parties competed in the elections, with over 206,000 polling stations set up across the country.

Voters living in Türkiye's larger cities cast their votes for metropolitan municipality mayor, municipality mayor, city council members, as well as mukhtars and elder councils. Those cities include the capital Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir — the nation’s three largest cities by population — as well as Adana, Antalya, Aydin, Balikesir, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Ordu, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Tekirdag, Trabzon, and Van.

** Ahmet Yener, chairman of the Turkish Supreme Election Council, said that the results are being entered into the SECSIS election system and that the council shares all data entries with the political parties.

***Regarding the broadcast ban, he said that the council will meet soon to decide at what time the ban will be lifted.

- Political parties

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

Other political parties include 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.