About 56 million people are eligible to vote in Turkey's historic presidential and parliamentary elections. In a first, mobile voting booths are available for the handicapped, as well as the elderly.
A voter dressed in the Turkish flag cast his ballot at a polling station during the parliamentary and presidential elections in the province of Kahramanmaras, Turkey on June 24, 2018. (AA)
Turkish citizens head to the polls to pick members of parliament and a president under Turkey’s new presidential system.
Voting in Turkey’s parliamentary and presidential elections began on Sunday, at 0500 GMT (8am local time) and will continue through to 1400 GMT (5pm local time).
There are over 56 million registered voters and 180,065 ballot boxes across the country.
According to the Supreme Election Council, more than 1,650,000 people will vote for the first time. About 30,000 Syrians who were given Turkish citizenship are also eligible to vote in the elections.
For the first time in Turkish election history, the elderly, sick and those with disabilities who are unable to make it to polling stations got a chance to vote at home with mobile polling stations.
Over 17,000 voters registered to use the mobile ballot boxes, after presenting a medical report explaining their reason for being unable to come to polling stations.
A private polling booth was set up where voters cast their votes in privacy.
“This simplifies things for us,” said Recep Sengec, 72, who suffers from muscular dystrophy. He availed of the facility in the northwestern province of Sakarya.
The elderly and sick who could not make it to polling stations got a chance to vote at home for the first time in Turkish election history. (AA) Voters arrive to cast their ballots at a polling station during the parliamentary and presidential elections, in Istanbul, Turkey on June 24, 2018. (AA) Mustafa Yurtlu, 42, rode his horse to the polling station in the central Anatolian city of Kayseri. (AA) Armenian citizens of Turkey living in the Vakifli neighbourhood of Hatay voted for the presidential and 27th term of parliamentary elections. (AA) A Turkish citizen of Uzbek origin casts his vote in the southeastern province of Hatay. (AA) A couple from the central-western province of Eskisehir cast their votes in their wedding attire on June 24, 2018. (AA) A bride from the eastern Thracian city of Tekirdag casts her vote before her wedding. (AA) A voter dressed in Ottoman-era janissary clothing casts his ballot at a polling station during the parliamentary and presidential elections in Denizli. (AA) A Turkish citizen of British origin, Sara Rebecca Gercekbilen, voted with her husband and daughter in the coastal province of Mugla in southwestern Turkey. (AA) A voter arrives at a polling station with her pet during the parliamentary and presidential elections, in Antalya, Turkey. (AA) A voter and her son, dressed in Besiktas gear votes in the resort city of Antalya. (AA)
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