Ankara, June 24: The counting for presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey is underway. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is leading with 56 percent votes, whereas Muharrem Ince, is on 29 percent. As per reports of state media, 52 percent votes have been counted till now. If Erdogan wins more than 50 percent of total votes he will win the elections and the second round of voting will not be required.

Erdogan’s party is also leading in parliamentary elections. According to the state news agency Anadolu, with 38% of the votes for parliament counted, Erdogan’s  AK Party leads with 47% of the votes, while the main opposition party CHP is on 19%. As per reports, 87 percent voter turnout is recorded this time.

Live result of Turkeys's presidential and parliamentary election:

Turkey's parliamentary and presidential elections were held on Sunday. Turkish President Erdogan is seeking re-election for a new five-year term. In his election campaign, Erdogan promised to bring prosperity and stability to the country.

Polling began at 8 a.m. local time and continued till 5 pm.  There were a total of 56,322,632 registered voters with 180,065 ballot boxes across the country, reports Anadolu news agency. Erdogan, who is representing the People's Alliance formed by the Justice and Development (AK) Party and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), must secure more than 50 per cent of the vote for an outright win.

If the threshold is not reached, a runoff could be held on July 8 between the leading two contenders, Hurriyet Daily News reported. Five candidates are in the fray against Erdogan who has been in power since he was elected Prime Minister in 2003. Deemed his main rival, physics teacher Muharrem Ince is backed by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and has wooed crowds with an engaging election campaign. His rallies in Turkey's three main cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir drew massive numbers. Also challenging Erdogan is former Interior Minister Meral Aksener, Hurriyet reported.

The only female candidate, Aksener broke away from Turkey's main nationalist party over its support for Erdogan and formed the centre-right and nationalist Good Party (IYI Party). Turkey will also be electing 600 lawmakers to parliament - 50 more than in the previous assembly. For the parliamentary polls, eight political parties are contesting the elections.

Some 1.49 million expats voted in a 13-day period between June 7 and 19 at 123 Turkish missions abroad.  Whoever wins the election will be given sweeping new powers, as the role of Prime Minister is dissolved and the President gains the authority to issue laws by decree, reports CNN. Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics since 2003. He implemented policies that encouraged sustained economic growth and development, challenged Turkey's secular foundations by bringing Islamic conservatism to public life and gutted public institutions by having tens of thousands arrested following a failed military coup in 2016.

(With inputs from IANS)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 24, 2018 11:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).