Voting under way in Turkiye's local elections

ANKARA -- Turkish citizens head to voting stations Sunday for local elections, a crucial test for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who seeks to retake control of major cities that his party lost to the opposition in 2019.

Polls opened at 7 am local time (0400 GMT) in eastern Turkiye and at 8 am in other regions, and will be closed at 5 pm, with initial results expected by 10 pm

A total of 61 million eligible voters, including 1 million first-timers, get to choose municipal officials from 34 political parties.

The focus is particularly on Istanbul, which holds significance due to its status as Turkiye's largest city, and the capital Ankara, both of which were lost by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to the Republican People's Party (CHP) in the last local elections in 2019.

The race in Istanbul is expected to be neck and neck between Ekrem Imamoglu, the incumbent mayor representing the CHP, and Murat Kurum, the candidate fielded by the AKP.

In Ankara, Erdogan's candidate Turgut Altinok runs against the incumbent mayor of the capital city, Mansur Yavas, from the CHP.

In May last year, Erdogan was reelected as president and his alliance gained the majority in the parliament.