A total of 72.74% of the ballot boxes have been opened so far in Türkiye’s biggest city Istanbul and unofficial results for the presidential race show a neck-and-neck race between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his main rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Vote counting is officially underway in Türkiye’s presidential and parliamentary elections after some 61 million citizens were called on to vote on Sunday.
Erdoğan clinched 46.77% votes in the metropolitan, while Kılıçdaroğlu is at 48.34%.
Meanwhile, minor contender Sinan Oğan has logged 4.53% of the votes, data from Anadolu Agency (AA) shows.
Results also reveal 0.37% support for Muharrem Ince, another presidential contender who withdrew from the race.
Despite his withdrawal, the Supreme Election Council (YSK) – Türkiye's election authority – has affirmed the validity of votes for Ince.
More than 64.1 million people were registered to vote, including over 1.76 million who have already cast their ballots abroad and 4.9 million first-time voters.
A total of 191,885 ballot boxes have been set up for voters in the country.
Every voter cast two ballots, one for the president and the other for lawmakers, who will serve five-year terms.
Over 30 political parties and 150 independent parliamentary candidates are competing in the elections.
Five multiparty blocs are in the running: the People's Alliance, the Nation Alliance, the Ancestral Alliance, the Labor and Freedom Alliance, and the Union of Socialist Forces Alliance.
According to the YSK, voting went ahead without disruptions.
