Turkish elections: Voting begins at customs gates

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turks living abroad have begun voting on Thursday for the June 24 presidential and general elections at customs gates and foreign missions.

The voting process at custom gates of Istanbul’s Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen airports has started at 8.00 a.m. local time [0500GMT].

Turks also started voting at the Kapikule and Ipsala border gates in the northwestern Edirne province and at the Derekoy border gate in the northwestern Kirklareli province.

“I am very happy to have cast the first vote here. We love our country so much,” said Suheyla Kara, who was the first expatriate to cast a vote at Kapikule border gate.

She was traveling to the central Konya province from Belgium.

Expatriates will be able to vote for 24 hours every day including weekends at border gates. The voting process will end at 5 p.m. local time [1400GMT] on June 24.

Over 3 million Turks living abroad are eligible to vote for the June 24 presidential and general elections.

Six candidates are in the running for the presidential race while eight political parties are taking part in the parliamentary elections.