Erdogan and his wife cast their votes as Turkey goes to the polls

Erdogan and his wife cast their votes as Turkey goes to the polls in landmark election with the President facing his biggest challenge since he came to power 20 years ago

• Mr Erdoğan, 69, was seen casting his vote at a polling station in Istanbul, Turkey
• It comes as polls predict his main challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu has a slight lead

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife have been pictured voting in what, according to recent polls, will be the closest race in the country’s electoral history.

President Erdoğan, 69, and wife Emine Erdoğan, 68, were seen casting their votes at a polling station in Istanbul, Turkey, in the country’s parliamentary and presidential elections, on Sunday morning.

It comes as polls on Friday gave Erdoğan’s main challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who leads a six-party coalition, a slight lead showing him above the 50 per cent threshold needed to win the election.

Erdoğan, who has been in power for 20 years, is accused by critics of taking Turkey, a country of 85million and a NATO member, down an authoritarian path and closer to dictatorship.

But speaking in Istanbul, President Erdoğan said: ‘We pray to the Lord for a better future for our country, nation and Turkish democracy.’

President Erdoğan (right), 69, and wife Emine Erdoğan (left), 68, were seen casting their votes at a polling station in Istanbul, Turkey, in the country’s parliamentary and presidential elections, on Sunday morning

Erdoğan, who has been in power for 20 years, is accused by critics of taking Turkey, a country of 85million and a NATO member, down an authoritarian path and closer to dictatorship. Pictured: Erdoğan greets supporters outside the polling station on Sunday

Meanwhile, a smiling Mr Kilicdaroglu, 74, voted in the Turkish capital Ankara and emerged to applause from the waiting crowd.

He said: ‘I offer my most sincere love and respect to all my citizens who are going to the ballot box and voting. We all miss democracy so much.’

Around 61million voters from across Turkey’s 87 electoral districts will head to the polls on Sunday.

Around 3.4million eligible overseas voters — 1.5million of them in Germany alone — will likely have already cast their ballots.

The parliamentary vote is a tight race between the People’s Alliance comprising Erdoğan’s Islamist-rooted AK Party (AKP) and the nationalist MHP and others, and Kilicdaroglu’s Nation Alliance formed of six opposition parties, including his secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP), established by Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Erdoğan has taken tight control of most of Turkey’s institutions and sidelined traditional liberals, according to critics.

And according to a recent report, his Government has set back Turkey’s human rights record by ‘decades’.

Meanwhile, a smiling Mr Kilicdaroglu (pictured), 74, voted in Ankara and emerged to applause from the waiting crowd

He said: ‘I offer my most sincere love and respect to all my citizens who are going to the ballot box and voting. We all miss democracy so much’

However, Mr Erdoğan has dismissed those who claim he is turning Turkey into a dictatorship and said he will respect the results of the election. 

He said: ‘If our nation decides to make such a different decision, we will do exactly what’s required by democracy and there’s nothing else to do.’

Mr Erdogan added yesterday that he viewed the elections as a ‘celebration of democracy for our country’s future’.

If no presidential candidate secures more than 50 per cent of the vote, a run-off election will be held on May 28. 

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