The focus is on Istanbul during Turkey’s municipal elections on Sunday, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to lift away from the opposition.
The first estimates are predicted to be disclosed late on Sunday after polling stations closed down at 1400 GMT in the west of Turkey.
The election comes amid soaring inflation and significant devaluation, raising uncertainty with many voters.
While Erdogan is not a candidate, he has come to dominate the campaign, and he served as mayor of Istanbul in 1994.
His allies held the city until five years ago, when Ekrem Imamoglu from the secular Republican People’s Party (CHP) took control of Istanbul.
He will likely be the main opponent of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the next presidential elections in 2008 if he retains his post.
If Erdogan regains Istanbul and Ankara, he will have an incentive to amend the constitution to head for re-election to a fourth term, said Bayram Balci, a political scientist at Sciences Po university in France.
Erdogan clinched his re-election as president last May and immediately began the battle to reclaim Istanbul.
He named former environment minister Murat Kurum as his mayoral candidate for Istanbul, and referred to Imamoglu as a “part-time mayor.”
Imamoglu has defended his record and put the focus on local issues.
“Every vote you give to the CHP will mean more metros, creches, green spaces, social benefits, and investment,” Imamoglu said.
The election is being held with inflation at 67 percent and massive devaluation of the lira, which went from 19 to a dollar to 31 in one year. Analysts believe this could benefit the opposition.
The pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) said it had identified irregularities “in almost all Kurdish provinces,” especially through suspicious cases of proxy voting.
The lawyers’ association MLSA said observers from France were refused access to a polling station in the region.
About 61 million voters were eligible to cast ballots across Turkey’s 81 provinces in elections for mayors and provincial council members.
The opposition is more fractured than during the situation five years ago and the CHP has failed to rally support for a single candidate.
The party’s candidates are narrowly favored in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir but analysts say opinion polls have not always been accurate.
Support for Erdogan and the ruling party is strong in much of the country.
