Turkey’s main opposition presidential candidate İnce votes in elections

Muharrem İnce, the presidential candidate for Turkey’s main opposition, the Republican People’s Party, (CHP) casted his vote on Sunday in the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

İnce voted in Istanbul’s Yalova district at around 10.30 a.m.

Six candidates are running for president, while eight political parties are contending in the parliamentary elections.

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.

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

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.

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.

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