Thread by @AJEnglish

Voting is under way in Turkey's elections as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces the biggest political challenge of his two-decade rule.

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More than 64 million eligible voters will cast their ballots to elect both a president and parliament for a 5️⃣-year term.

The polls opened at 8am (0500 GMT) and will close at 5pm (1400 GMT).

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Twitter has announced that access to some content has been restricted in Turkey.

It didn’t elaborate in its announcement on Saturday on what content is affected by these restrictions.

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How does Turkey’s electoral system work? We take a look ⤵️

🇹🇷 Election explainer: aje.io/jt79w9
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"Areas affected by the earthquake have a large electoral turnover."

Polling in Turkey's earthquake-affected areas is taking place in schools (damaged and undamaged) and inside camps for the displaced, says Al Jazeera’s Omar Halabi.

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We look at the main candidates for Turkey's presidential election and what they are promising to voters ⤵️

🇹🇷 Election explainer: aje.io/jt79w9
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Two men wearing Islamic kufi caps and shalwar trousers were verbally and physically attacked by a passenger on the Istanbul metro on the eve of Turkey’s presidential elections ⤵️

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Presidential candidates Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kemal Kilicdaroglu, have voted in their respective strongholds of Istanbul and Ankara.

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Turkey's leading opposition figure and head of the People’s Republican Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, referred to his famous campaign slogan “I promise spring will come” after casting his ballot.

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#AJStartHere's @SandraGathmann has been meeting people in Turkey's Hatay province, one of the regions worst affected by February's earthquakes - to find out how they're going to vote ⤵️

Turkey's Supreme Council for Elections has announced that votes made for Muharrem Ince, who withdrew from the election, will be counted and will not be considered invalid, reports Al Jazeera’s Farah al-Zaman Shawqi.

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Turkish voters will also elect 600 members of the Grand National Assembly, the Turkish parliament.

We map the current seats in the assembly ⤵️

🇹🇷 Election explainer: aje.io/jt79w9
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With many polling stations experiencing long voter queues, the Istanbul Bar Association has reminded people who are waiting at 5pm that they will be allowed to vote.

Anyone joining a queue after 5pm cannot vote.

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Polling stations in Turkey close after momentous elections aje.io/8u3hfa

Polls have closed in Turkey’s pivotal elections.

Political drama aside, voting stations saw a range of distinctive characters, including the world’s tallest man, a horseback rider dressed like an Ottoman soldier, and hospital patients determined to vote ⤵️

Voting has now ended in Turkey’s elections as President Erdogan faces the biggest political challenge of his two-decade rule.

To stay up to date with the latest election results as they become available, follow our live tracker ⤵️ aje.io/i5kaz1

"We ask our citizens to follow our statements."

A CHP spokesman has said that his party sees a “positive picture” in vote results and accused the state-run Anadolu Agency of manipulating the data it receives.

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Ekrem Imamoglu, main opposition CHP’s Istanbul mayor, has slammed state-run Anadolu Agency for manipulating the results.

Imamoglu said that Kemal Kilicdaroglu was ahead in the race, according to their party’s data.

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"It is an attempt to assassinate the national will."

Omer Celik, a spokesperson for Turkey's ruling AK Party, has criticised opposition leaders over their comments alleging “manipulation” by the state-run Anadolu Agency.

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Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from CHP HQ in Turkey's capital Ankara, says the party is feeling “more and more confident” with preliminary results coming in and cutting into President Erdogan’s lead.

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