Turkey’s historic elections: Live blog

LIVE BLOG

02:30      Election authority: Erdogan has won

High Election Council chairman Sadi Guven announced that President Erdogan has won a simple majority in the presidential election. 

"Inconclusive results show that the parties above 10 per cent threshold are AKP, CHP, HDP, Good Party, MHP and Felicity Party", he added. 

01:00     Ince 'admitted defeat'

CHP's candidate Muharrem Ince acknowledged that President Erdogan has won the election, according to a well-known journalist.

FOX TV anchorman Ismail Kucukkaya tweeted that he has spoken to Ince via Whatsapp.

"Ince said that the race wasn't fair, but Erdogan has won", he wrote.

23:30     MHP declares 'historic success'

MHP leader Devlet Bahceli says that they have achieved a "historic success" in the elections, becoming a key party in the parliament.

"Presidential elections resulted in the first round. Those awaiting crisis have fallen into despair", he added.

Early results indicate that MHP won 49 out of the 600 seats in the parliament. 

22:45     Erdogan gives early 'balcony speech'

President Erdogan addressed supporters from the Huber Mansion to declare victory, while votes are still being counted. 

"According to unofficial results, our nation has granted me the duties of executive presidency. At the same time, the nation has granted parliamentarian majority to AK Party", Erdogan said. 

“I hope no one damages democracy by casting a shadow on this election and its results in order to hide their own failure", he noted.

Government-run Anadolu Agency reports that Erdoğan won 52.72 per cent of the national vote, with 95.5 per cent of votes counted. 

The opposition, however, insists that 40 millons of votes are yet to be counted.

Both CHP and Good Party urge supporters to stand guard at their ballots.

22:15     TRT declares Erdogan victor before the count is over

TRT World, government controlled international TV network, declares Tayyip Erdogan as "Re-elected president in the new system".

However, no official announcement has been made yet by the electoral board.

The opposition claim less than half the votes have been counted.

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20:45     Bahceli congratulates Erdogan

MHP leader Devlet Bahceli has called President Erdogan to congratulate him on the election victory. 

Erdogan's AKP and MHP had formed the People's Alliance for the parliamentary elections. 

20:00     HDP: We will pass the threshold

HDP lawmaker Garo Paylan announced that they will get between 11-12 per cent of the vote, citing the pro-Kurdish party's own data. 

A 10 per cent national threshold is needed to enter parliament.

Erdogan's AKP will lose parliamentary majority if HDP passed the threshold.

19:30     CHP's first results: Erdogan 46.58%, Ince 40.35%

Party spokesman Bulent Tezcan noted that state-controlled Anadolu Agency's results vary greatly from theirs.

He warned election observers not to get demoralized and leave election sites.

18.45     Broadcasting ban lifted now

The High Election Council announced that election news, estimates and early results may be published from now on. 

Additional police forces are deployed around the council building in Ankara, where CHP parliamentarians and citizens are gathering ‘to prevent fraud’.

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17:30     ‘Three dead’ in election fight
 
A Good Party official and two other people were killed in a gunfight in the eastern city of Erzurum, Yenicag newspaper reported.
 
Speaking to the newspaper, CHP official Husnu Yilan said that the fight broke out when two dozen ‘election officials’ charged by the Interior Ministry appeared at the IMKB Secondary School in the Karacoban district. 
 
“We reacted to this. Then a young parliamentary candidate from AKP came to the school, and we did not accept it either. A fight broke out. They sharted shooting. Good Party’s district chairman Mehmet Siddik Durmaz, a citizen who was there to vote and Agit Yazan lost their lives”, Yilan said. 

16:45     CHP: Election reeks of irregularities

CHP has identified a number of irregularities related to the voting process, party spokesman Bulent Tezcan has announced. 

“In the Suruc district [in Urfa] armed people plainly walk around, threatening the election environment. Observers are prohibited, and citizens are terrorized with fear, pressure and threats”, he said. 

Stating that “government-based sources make a special effort to create disturbance”, Tezcan noted that most of the complaints they receive come from the south-eastern city of Urfa.

“The ballot box numbered 1043 in Suruc was clearly used for collective vote. Fake votes were cast in the early ours”, he said while projecting the video of the incident.

Adding that they have also identified 100 pre-sealed votes in favour of the People’s Alliance cast in the Eyubiye district in Urfa, Tezcan said: “The election process is Urfa reeks of irregularities. We call upon public officials and security forces to be cautious about securing election security.”

15:30     Trucks barricade Erdogan’s palace
 
A few hours after voting began, extra security measures went into place in Ankara, Turkey’s capital. 
 
Police buses, water canon vehicles and trucks belonging to Ankara Municipality were deployed around the Presidential Palace and the High Election Council. 

See photos and video here 

15:00     Presidential candidates cast their ballots
 
AKP’s candidate and President Tayyip Erdogan voted in a secondary school in Uskudar, Istanbul. “The turnout seems very high. Even in the most developed democracies around the world, turnout has fallen to around 30 per cent. Turkey is beyond all that, its democratic maturation is way ahead”, he said. 
 
CHP’s candidate Muharrem Ince cast his ballot in a primary school in his hometown, Yalova. “I am heading off to Ankara right now, and I will be in front of the High Election Council at night”, he said to journalists. Ince had previously declared that he will “stand guard with 50 thousand lawyers” to prevent election fraud. 
 
Recently formed Good Party’s candidate Meral Aksener cast her vote in a highschool in Istanbul. “May the elections reflect the free will of the voters. We will do out best for that”, the former interior minister said. She will also be following the results in Ankara, at her party’s headquarters.
 
HDP’s imprisoned candidate Selahattin Demirtas voted at the Edirne High Security Prison. “So we voted in prison. I hope everyone votes for the future of the country and chooses democracy. I believe the results will be wonderful”, he tweeted through his lawyers. 

14:00     Today’s Cumhuriyet: One vote can make all the difference

“Today, 56 million voters cast their votes at 180,000 ballot boxes in the most critical elections in Turkey’s history. Six candidates are competing for Presidency. If one of them wins 50+1 per cent of the vote in the first round, they will become the 13^thpresident. If nobody scores that high, the top two will compete in a second round on 8 July. 
 
Running in the parliamentary election are the Nation Alliance established by CHP, Good Party, Felicity Party and Democratic Party; the People’s Alliance formed by AKP, MHP and BBP; HDP and Homeland Party. Elections are tests of democracies, and we wish that they take place in a mature and smooth manner, and that the results are announced fairly.

Whatever the results, may the winners be democracy, secularism, basic rights and freedoms, plurality and peace. May this be the end of workers’ deaths, children’s abuse, femicides, poverty, corruption, torture to animals, environmental massacres, migrants’ tragedy, pillage of history, every kind of oppression, division and polarization.”

20:00     Prohibition, disarmament, news blackout: Election day rules

Whether you can vote or not, there are certain rules you will have to abide by if you are in Turkey tomorrow.

In order to ensure that elections take place in a “healthy and orderly manner”, a number of bans will be enforced on Sunday:

• From 6am until midnight, it is forbidden to sell alcoholic beverages and to drink in public. 
• No one but security officers may carry weapons.
• Public places of entertainment, like coffee houses and internet cafes, will be closed. Restaurants may only serve meals, not showbiz. Weddings can begin after 6pm.
• News outlets cannot publish stories, forecasts and comments on elections until 6pm.

15:00     MERHABA!

Welcome to Cumhuriyet’s live blog for Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

Following a brief but intense election campaign, Turkish citizens will head to polls on Sunday. Polls are open from 8am to 5pm local time (GMT+3).

Preliminary results should be announced after the publication ban is lifted.

Beginning now, we will be updating this blog with all things election.

Stay tuned! 

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