Erdogan or Kilicdaroglu? Polling stations are closed, complete lockdown until 9 p.m

The second round, in which incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the main opposition candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, faced each other, became necessary because neither candidate managed to obtain an absolute majority in the first round on May 14. Now, on Sunday, only the two best-ranked candidates have measured themselves.

Citizens over the age of 18 could go to the polls from 8 a.m. local time (from 7 a.m. CET). Those who were still standing in line at exactly 5 p.m. could cast their votes.

According to the election law, which has been in force since 1961, the publication of any kind of news, speculation and comments about the election itself and its results is prohibited in all media until 6 p.m. This also applies to participation. Between 18:00 and 21:00, the press can only publish information issued by the Supreme Electoral Council (YSK).

YSK is scheduled to lift media restrictions at 9 p.m., although it may decide to move this time earlier.

Erdogan won the first round of the presidential election with 49.52 percent of the vote. Kilicdaroglu, who has been the leader of the Kemalist Republican People’s Party (CHP), the largest opposition group since 2010, won 44.88 percent of the vote.

Özgür Özel, CHP’s deputy faction leader, wrote on his official Twitter account on Sunday that their former member of parliament, Ali Seker, was injured during a clash in the village of Karaali in southeastern Turkey’s Sanfliurfa province, where he and his colleagues were observing. The reason for the fight was that Sekerek spoke out against the irregularities they experienced, Özel said.

Turks living abroad could vote at Turkey’s diplomatic missions between May 20 and May 24, but they could also vote at Turkish customs gates, i.e. at international airports and the country’s border stations, until 5 p.m. on May 28. Their ballots were delivered to Ankara. These envelopes are also opened after the polls close at 5 p.m.