Turkey’s Supreme Election Council has announced preparations are completed for local elections to be held on Sunday.
In the upcoming municipal elections, 61 million Turkish citizens are eligible to vote and 208,000 ballot boxes have been prepared with 34 political parties participating.
The elections for the presidency of the municipal council, mayors, and governors are held every five years.
The polls will be open from 7 am to 4 pm in the provinces of Adiyaman, Agri, Bingol, Bitlis, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Antakya, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Kars, Malatya, Kahramanmaras, Mardin, Ordu, Rize, Siirt, Sivas, Trabzon, Tunceli, Sanliurfa, Van, Bayburt, Batman, Sirnak, Ardahan, Igdir, and Kilis.
Voting will begin at 8 am and close at 5 pm in other provinces. According to a decision from the election council, the vote count will begin immediately after.
The election council said the ballot boxes will remain open until the appointed time, even if all registered voters completed their votes.
A decision from the election commission notes media cannot publish the results of the polls until receiving official permission.
The competition is especially fierce in these elections between the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Justice and Development Party (AKP), and the People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) in Istanbul.
