(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) Istanbul August 10 (QNA) - Voting is under way in the 12th presidential election in Turkey. Three candidates are vying for the position including current Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan the (BBC) reported. If none of the candidates gets above 50% of the vote a second round will be held on 24 August. Erdogan 60 says that if he wins he wants to turn the largely ceremonial post of president into the country's executive powerhouse. He has been prime minister since 2003. Polls opened at 08:00 local time (05:00 GMT) and close at 17:00. Erdogan's two rivals are a little-known diplomat Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas. Ihsanoglu 71 is the joint candidate of the two main opposition parties in parliament the centre-left Republican People's Party (CHP) and the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Demirtas 41 is a leader of the left-wing People's Democratic Party (HDP) and a well-known politician from the Kurdish minority. (QNA)
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.