Voting Begins in Turkey

* Photograph: Muhammed Enes Yıldırım / AA

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Voting procedure has started for 57 million voters in 81 provinces of Turkey.

CLICK - Everything You Need to Know About Local Elections

While ballot boxes have been opened for March 31 General Local Elections at 7 a.m. in 32 provinces, the voting procedure has started at 8 a.m. in the remaining provinces of Turkey. In those provinces where citizens cast their votes from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., the counting of votes will begin as of 4 p.m. In the remaining provinces, votes will be counted as of 5 p.m.

Ballot boxes will be closed to voting at 4 p.m. in the following provinces:

Adıyaman, Ağrı, Artvin, Bingöl, Bitlis, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Erzincan, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gümüşhane, Hakkari, Kars, Malatya, Kahramanmaraş, Mardin, Muş, Ordu, Rize, Siirt, Sivas, Trabzon, Tunceli, Şanlıurfa, Van, Bayburt, Batman, Şırnak, Ardahan, Iğdır, Kilis and the prisons located there.

Voting papers of mayorship to be counted first

In metropolitan municipalities, voting papers of metropolitan mayorship, district mayorship, membership of municipal council and village/neighborhood heads (mukhtar) will be counted respectively.

In other provinces, the order of counting votes will be as follows: District mayorship, membership of municipal council, membership of provincial council and village/neighborhood heads.

All voting papers will be put in a single envelope.

Even when all voters in the voters' list cast their votes, ballot boxes will not be opened until the announced closing time (either 4 or 5 p.m.).

Early election results will be announced after the broadcast/publication ban is lifted by the Supreme Election Council (YSK). (AS/SD)