Voting ends in Türkiye's first presidential runoff elections
An election official holds ballots of presidential candidates at a polling station in Ankara, Türkiye, May 28, 2023. (EPA Photo)


Voting ended in Türkiye's first presidential runoff elections, as polling stations closed.

The head of Türkiye's Supreme Election Council (YSK), Ahmet Yener, told reporters that voting had ended as of 5 p.m. local time and that no issues were reported.

"No negative issues have been reported following Türkiye's presidential elections," he said, adding that objections have been handled by relevant authorities.

More than 64.1 million people are registered to vote, including over 1.92 million who had already cast their ballots at overseas polling stations.

A total of 191,885 ballot boxes were set up for voters in the country.

Voters chose between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is seeking reelection, and main opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

Overseas voting was held until May 24. As for customs gates, voters could cast their ballots until domestic polling stations closed on Sunday at 5 p.m. local time (2 p.m. GMT).

Millions of voters went to the polls on May 14 to elect the country's president and members of the 600-seat Parliament.

Erdoğan’s People’s Alliance won a majority against the opposition's six-party Nation Alliance in Parliament.

As the voting ended, President Erdoğan tweeted "thank you" to his supporters who worked as observers at the polling stations "since the early hours of the morning."

"I call upon all my brothers and sisters to stand by the ballot boxes until the results are officially confirmed. It is now time to safeguard the nation's will!" he tweeted.