Polls open in Turkey's 26th general election
Baku, November 1, AZERTAC
Voting in Turkey's 26th general election began at 8.00 a.m. local time on Sunday, according to Anadolu Agency.
More than 54 million Turks are eligible to vote in a poll to elect 550 deputies to the Grand National Assembly.
A total of 175,006 polling stations countrywide will be open until 5.00pm local time. Nearly a million Turks living abroad have already cast their ballots at 113 embassies and consulates.
The electorate will be selecting a party, rather than a candidate, in 81 provinces - divided into 85 voting districts (Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir provinces have multiple districts) - across the country under the closed list proportional representation system.
The election will be overseen by observers from civil society groups and political parties as well as international monitors.
Of the 16 parties registered to contest the election, opinion polls suggest four parties could pass the 10 percent threshold to gain seats in the assembly.
Following the June 7 vote, the Justice and Development (AK) Party was returned as the largest party with 258 seats. The Republican People's Party (CHP) came second with 132 seats while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Peoples' Democractic Party (HDP) won 80 seats each. A deputy from both the CHP and MHP have since become independents.
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