The new turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Around 53 million people are heading to the ballot box across Turkey on Aug. 10 to choose the country’s next president, who will be elected in a popular vote for the first time in the nation’s history. 

Turnout is expected to be high with the three candidates, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has ruled the country for 12 years as prime minister, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, the former head of Organization of Islamic Cooperation and a joint candidate of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş each calling on their supporters to vote. A second round will be held Aug. 24 if no candidate manages to surpass 50 percent of the votes.

The first results put Erdoğan ahead by a large margin, signalling a possible first round victory: