November 2015 Turkish general election

Presidential and parliamentary elections have begun at 8 am local time.

"As of now, all measures for healthy and secure elections have been taken by the Supreme Election Board [YSK] and its election committees in the provinces and districts," YSK head Ahmet Yener told the journalists on May 12.

All sealed bags containing nearly 1.8 million overseas votes have reached the capital Ankara, with the bags kept safe in a tight security room protected with five locks.

Some 60 million Turks will cast their votes on May 14 to elect their 13th president and the 600-seat parliament in an election that many describe as the most critical one not only for Türkiye but also for the wider region.

Turkish expatriates have shown a high civic engagement in the May 14 elections, which has already started for citizens abroad, as they line up in long queues outside the consulates to cast their ballots.

More than 500,000 Turkish citizens living abroad have cast their ballots in the elections scheduled for May 14 at home in four days, according to the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) representative to the Supreme Election Council (YSK).

The voting process to decide the next Turkish president and the parliamentary seats began for around 3.4 million Turks living abroad on April 27.

Turkish citizens can cast their votes without needing to book an appointment until May 9 at designated election bureaus and May 14 at border gates on 156 points across 73 countries, the Supreme Election Council (YSK) said.

The Constitutional Court has tasked a rapporteur for penning the report on the closure case of the Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) after the party refused to make a verbal defense before the court on April 11.

A total of 13 out of 26 political parties that submitted their parliamentary candidate lists to the Supreme Election Board (YSK) will enter May 14 elections on their own, while 13 others will run under alliances.

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the closest ally of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has decided to run independently for the parliament despite expectations that the two partners could cooperate to maximize their representation in the parliament.

The Supreme Election Board (YSK) announced on April 3 the reasons behind rejecting the objections to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's candidacy in the 14 May elections.