Female presidential candidate Akşener votes in Turkey elections

Meral Akşener, the only female presidential candidate and chairwoman for the İYİ (Good) Party, casted her vote on Sunday in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

Akşener voted in Istanbul’s Beylerbeyi district at around 11 a.m.

Six candidates are running for president: Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the alliance (People’s Alliance) formed by Turkey’s ruling AK Party and the MHP, Muharrem Ince for CHP, Selahattin Demirtas for HDP, Meral Aksener for the Good (IYI) Party, Temel Karamollaoglu for the Felicity (Saadet) Party, and Dogu Perincek for the Patriotic (Vatan) Party.

Turkish PM casts vote in elections

Turkish PM Yıldırım, member of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, casted his vote on Sunday

Turkey’s main opposition presidential candidate İnce votes in elections

Muharrem İnce, presidential candidate for Turkey’s main opposition, the Republican People’s Party, (CHP) casted his vote on Sunday

In April, Parliament passed a bill calling for early elections on June 24, cementing Turkey’s move from a parliamentary to a presidential system. In an April 2017 referendum, Turkish voters approved the switch.

Under the changes, the number of lawmakers in parliament rises from 550 to 600, presidential and parliamentary elections will be held every five years, and presidents can retain ties to their political party. The prime minister post is also abolished.

Turkey goes to polls in presidential, parliamentary elections

Voters will cast two separate ballot papers in the same envelope, one for the presidential and one for the parliamentary elections

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has served as president since 2014, and is Turkey's first popularly-elected president. Before that, he served as prime minister from 2003 to 2014.

Erdoğan would be Turkey's first leader to rule under the presidential system should he win the election.