Turkey in Anticipation of General Election Results as Polling Stations Close

Turkey is in anticipation of the results from the country's 25thgeneral elections, which were held on Sunday.

The polling stations closed at 5 p.m. local time, and electoral committees across the country's 85 voting districts have started the counting of the votes.

More than 53 million people were eligible to participate in the general elections, which are to elect the 550 representatives of the unicameral Grand National Assembly under the closed list proportional representation system.

There were 174 240 polling stations in total, with nearly one million Turks living abroad voting at 122 embassies and consulates, Anadolu Agency reports.

The elections were monitored by civil society groups and political parties as well as international observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe.

A total of 20 registered parties contested the elections, but according to opinion polls only four parties hold chances of passing the 10 % electoral threshold.

The Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has been in power since 2002, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) are all expected to pass the electoral threshold without major problems.

It remains unclear whether the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) will enter parliament for the first time as a party, which will be also decisive for determining the future of the country's political system.

AKP is aiming to gain 330 seats, which will be necessary for initiating constitutional changes that could turn Turkey into a presidential republic with far-reaching powers for President Recep Erdogan.

In the days prior to the elections, HDP was subject of...