The elections will also usher in a powerful new executive presidency long sought by Erdogan and backed by a small majority of Turks in a 2017 referendum. Critics say it will further erode democracy in the NATO member state and entrench one-man rule, according to Reuters.

Erdogan, the most popular but also divisive leader in modern Turkish history, moved the elections forward from November 2019, arguing the new powers would better enable him to tackle the nation’s mounting economic problems - the lira has lost 20 percent against the dollar this year - and deal with Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey and in neighboring Iraq and Syria.

But he reckoned without Muharrem Ince, the presidential candidate of the secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP), whose feisty performance at campaign rallies has galvanized Turkey’s long-demoralized and divided opposition.

Other presidential candidates include Selahattin Demirtas, leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), who is now in jail on terrorism-related charges that he denies. If the HDP exceeds the 10 percent threshold of votes needed to enter parliament, it will be harder for the AKP to get a majority.

In a final appeal for votes in a video clip from his high security prison, Demirtas said: “If the HDP fails to get into parliament, all Turkey will lose. Backing the HDP means supporting democracy.”

Each of the parties held election eve rallies yesterday with Erdogan and Ince speaking to crowds in Istanbul, while the HDP took to the streets in Van which was headlined by HDP co-chair Sezai Temelli, in the stead of the incarcerated Demirtas.

After the rally ended in Van, police attacked attendees with tear gas and rubber bullets. According to Firat News Agency, HDP Van Province Co-President Yadisendan Karabulak was beaten and 20 people detained.

Voting on Sunday started at 8 am and ends at 5 pm. Nearly 60 million Turks are eligible to vote, out of a total population of 81 million.

For the parliamentary election, 4,800 candidates will compete for 600 parliamentary seats – 977 of whom are women. More than 1 million voters living abroad cast ballots out of 3,047,328 potential voters from June 7 to June 19; voter turnout was 48 percent.

Polls show Erdogan falling short of a first-round victory in the presidential race but he would be expected to win a run-off on July 8, while his AK Party could lose its parliamentary majority, possibly heralding increased tensions between president and parliament.

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