muharrem ince, the candidate of the ce ntre—left, muharrem ince, the candidate of the centre—left, galvaniseand was light, widely expected to force president erdogan tway second round. he and his supporters say tu rkey‘s round. he and his supporters say turkey's state newsagency announced results before ballot boxes opened. turnout was 87%. whatever can be said of the state of turkish democracy, this is a nation that cherishes its right to have a say in it. after 16 years, probably change may be on the rise. is a time for a change after 16 years of a key party? no. why not? because i'm happy with them, because i trust them, because i believe that stability should continue. and so one side believes the result and will celebrate long into the night, but another refusing to accept it, accusing the state machine of creating a false reality. this pivotal, polarised country is on dangerous ground. earlier i spoke to onur erem, a journalist with the bbc‘s turkish language service. i began by asking whether the opposition parties — who were critical of the early results — are now more accepting of t

muharrem ince has emerged as a stop recep tayyip erdogan candidate. is one of big dividing lines in turkey. people who support recep tayyip erdogan‘s leadership, especially after that failed coup. 200,000 people purged. they support his leadership of the country that is more conservative and more islamic. but those who feel he has destroyed democracy and they're putting their face he has destroyed democracy and they're putting theirface in muharrem ince. we will have to see whether muharrem ince can force recep tayyip erdogan into a second round run off and whether the opposition can deprive the president ofa opposition can deprive the president of a majority. what would be the situation if he held on to the presidency, but didn't have control in parliament, to what extent would that weaken his grip on the country? well, that could clip his wings. parliament would be able to veto his budget. they would be able to veto various decrees the president could issue with the new system that was approved. it would be a headache for him. he is very much and hi

he's facing a strong challenge from a newly united opposition, led by muharrem ince, a former physics the centre—left republican people's party. from istanbul mark lowen reports. tu rkey‘s turkey's opposition has finally found its voice. for 15 years it has been fractured, unable to challenge president erdogan but then came marion ends, a fiery centre—left man of the people reaching beyond his pa rty‘s of the people reaching beyond his party's elitist image and drawing enormous crowds “— party's elitist image and drawing enormous crowds —— muharrem ince. this man is giving a powerful turkish president the battle of his political life. he told supporters he would fight for the working class, challenging mr erdogan to a tv debate which he has so far refused. polls suggest mr ince could force the president into a second round run—off after the election tomorrow and with other opposition parties win a majority in parliament. this is the half of turkey that field mr erdogan has destroyed democracy with his clamp—downs and hostility to the west. confidence is growing despite the fear of vot

for 15 years it has been fractured, unable to challenge president erdogan, but then came muharrem ince crowds. this man is giving a powerful turkish president the battle of his political life. he told supporters he would fight for the working class, challenging mr erdogan to a tv debate which he has so far refused. polls suggest mr ince could force the president into a second round run—off after the election tomorrow and with other opposition parties, win a majority in parliament. this is the half of turkey that feels mr erdogan has destroyed democracy with his clamp—downs and hostility to the west. confidence is growing despite the fear of vote rigging. but the pro—erdogan side still passionately believes in him. conservative, pious turks revere him as their saviour in once secular—dominated turkey. they vaunt the bridges and hospitals he‘s built and they talk about western plot to ruin their country. the odds are still stacked in mr erdogan‘s favour, 90% of the media is pro—government. the kurdish presidential candidate is in prison and opposition posters are vastly outnumbered and t

alliance led by his ak party is set for an overall majority in parliament, but his main challenger, muharrem inceas not a fair race. addressing jubilant supporters in ankara, mr erdogan said he would act more decisively against what he called terrorist organisations. translation: starting from tomorrow we will begin working to fulfil the pledge as we make to our people. to a large extent we have completed our preparations regarding the new residential system. —— presidential. turkey made its decision in favour of fighting decisively against all terrorist organisations, including the pkk. at the same time, these results show we will continue to liberate syrian land and open the way for gas in our country to return home safely. —— gasts. —— guests. mr erdogan‘s supporters say they voted for stability and continuity, but those supporting the opposition fear that the new powers he is going to assume as president are a threat to democracy. translation: he means everything to us. translation: he means everything to us. turkey would have been lost without him. it would have ceased to exist. because i am

but then came muharrem ince — a fiery centre—left man of the people who draws enormous crowds and isattle of his political life. "turkey needs not a tired president but one with fresh blood," he told his last rally in istanbul. they believe the opposition can win a majority in parliament and force mr erdogan to a second—round run—off in the presidential election. this is taksim, the most iconic square in turkey. mr erdogan is here. he's there. he's everywhere. there's not a single opposition poster in sight. that unlevel playing field doesn't worry the erdogan side, also out today. conservative pious turks revere him as their saviour in once secular—dominated turkey. he repeated his slogan. "0ne nation, one flag, one homeland, one state". and invited them to give his rivals an 0ttoman slap tomorrow. mr erdogan might still prove his doubters wrong but for the first time in 15 years, it seems possible that the erdogan magic is running out. mark lowen, bbc news, istanbul. now with all the latest from the football world cup in russia where defending champions, germany, have beaten sweden

election, it seems likely to pay for him, but then came a lively centre left a man of the people, muharrem incecandidature. there have been big queues outside the voting rooms in this polling station, they are hoping for turnout of well over 85%. why? president erdogan elicits such strong opinions. adored by his conservative, pyrs supporters who love his ground infrastructure projects, the schools, hospitals and bridges he has built. poured by his critics for, as they see it, destroying turkish democracy. this isjudgment destroying turkish democracy. this is judgment day for president erdogan, turkey‘s most powerful, polarising president, and also for the direction of this pivotal country. women in saudi arabia are officially allowed to get behind the wheel of a car from today after the authorities lifted a ban on them driving. saudi arabia was the last country in the world where women were not permitted to drive. the move is part of a programme of modernisation under crown prince mohammed bin salman. but there‘s been criticism that many leading women‘s rights activists who challenged the ban a

victory in the presidential election, or if he will be forced into a second—round run—off with muharrem inceost 80% of the ballot boxes opened, erdogan is on about 54% of the votes cast. that is going down as the opposition areas come in. we don't know if he has enough in the parliamentary election to keep a majority inside parliament. what is clear is that two very different visions of turkey have collided, one which cherishes its conservative president, which has transformed their lives with schools. 0ne president, which has transformed their lives with schools. one which feels he has destroyed the country. it will not fix the chasm in tu rkey‘s it will not fix the chasm in turkey's hard, but it will determine who leads the country. —— heart. leaders of 16 eu member states have been holding talks in brussels on migration. they're trying to agree on reforms that will help the eu to better manage the influx of people which began in 2015. italy and malta have recently banned charity rescue boats from their ports, leaving vessels like the lifeline, loaded with migrants, stranded in internation

muharrem ince is running for turkey's main opposition party, the republican people's party, chp.cs teacher. he has seized the momentum, equalling the firebrand rhetoric of mr erdogan. also standing is selahattin demirtas of the pro—kurdish hdp party. he was imprisoned in november 2016, after being accused of links to pkk kurdish militia. he's running from behind bars. tim willcox reporting. one of britain's main railway lines is back under state control this morning. the east coast line was returned to public ownership after the government ended the stagecoach and virgin franchise. it will now be known as the london north eastern railway, a name last used in the 1940s. the department for transport will run the service until at least 2020. our business correspondent, joe lynam, is with me. as we are hearing, a throwback to many decades, the lner. just give us the background of why we have got to this stage. we have privatised ra i lwa ys this stage. we have privatised railways but you wouldn't know it on the east coast line today. virgin and stagecoach had a consortium and they ha

president erdogan's main rival muharrem ince warned today that turkey was entering a dangerous regimeembrace the whole nation. translation: president erdogan, from now on please don't act like you are the leader of the akp. bring people together. be the president for the 81 million people. i suggest you use my campaign slogan, everyone's president. president erdogan's governing akp lost seats in parliament but will still be able to secure a majority with the help of the nationalist party, who did much better in the election than expected. since the failed coup in 2016 over 100,000 public workers have been dismissed or sacked from their posts. more than 50,000 were arrested. 90% of the media here in turkey is controlled directly or indirectly by the government. president erdogan is adamant that turkish democracy is strong, and the huge turnout yesterday proved it. the first detailed figures on the number of students in higher education have taken their own lives has been published. they reveal that suicide rates among students are higher than they were a decade ago with the number of y

he's faced a tough electoral battle with muharrem ince, a former physics teacher who has energised the gamble for mr erdogan. it is. this wasn't what he had expected to start with when he called the snap election is over a month ago and brought forward the elections that were scheduled to ta ke elections that were scheduled to take place in november of 2019, he wasn't expecting to face such a fierce fight. the opposition candidate of the main opposition candidate, the chp, has put up a fearless ca m pa ig n candidate, the chp, has put up a fearless campaign and managed to galvanise the demoralised voters in the opposition. today we are expecting the first initial results to be announced within the next few hours. polls closed over an hour ago. when the supreme electoral board ago. when the supreme electoral boa rd lifts ago. when the supreme electoral board lifts the ban on the announcement of the official results, we will be reporting them, and that is expected in the next two 01’ and that is expected in the next two or three hours. a lot is at stake in these elections. more than 56 m

muharrem ince, leader of the secular republican people's party, called president recep tayyip erdoganogant man, and reaffirmed his promise to lift the two—year nationwide state of emergency. mr erdogan is still expected to win the presidential poll but mr ince hopes to force him into a second round. bbc correspondent, mark lowen, has been travelling the country to canvass opinion. two—year—old neval never knew her mum. she was shot in the neck by turkish police, and died after the birth. her grandma raises her. herfather is in prison, and she doesn't know the truth. they were, say the family, innocently caught up in clashes between pkk kurdish militants and government forces, the same government president erdogan is hoping to lead again after sunday's election. translation: when neval grows up, i'll tell her the state killed her mother and put herfather in prison. i hate erdogan for what he's done to my family. if he came here, i'd spit in his face. god damn him. but he did come here, to kurdish—dominated south—east turkey — not a region where he has a majority, but in this tight elec

he wa nts a facing his biggest challenge, he wants a second five—year term, but the opposition, muharrem inceyou can see on the screens. live pictures coming in from istanbul. we will get the latest in a moment. let's get the weather. temperatures have been around 2 degrees above those yesterday and there has been more sunshine today, notably for scotland and northern ireland, and that will continue as we go through this evening. some fine weather to end the day. it does mean that temperatures as they drop away will turn low across parts of scotland so it turns chilly here, but for most of us, given that temperatures have been hired in recent days, they will not drop as low overnight. we are getting warmer nights as well. more cloud for east anglia and the south—east on monday morning and cloud returning to the western isles, the northern isles, and perhaps the north—west highlands of scotla nd perhaps the north—west highlands of scotland which may just perhaps the north—west highlands of scotland which mayjust give the odd spot of drizzle. the fine, dry weather will continue for the rest of

among his main challengers are the candidate for the main opposition republican people's party, muharrem incetanbul with more on mr erdogan‘s chances of victory. the opinion polls show that recep tayyip erdogan distil the main leading figure but the gap is narrowing. the main opposition candidate is expected to get around 30% of the vote in the first round. if that is the case and no candidate gets more than 50% of the walks, and then there will be a run—off for the presidential elections. and, of course, on sunday there will be parliamentary elections as well and there is a good probability that recep tayyip erdogan‘s party could actually lose its parliamentary majority. here, in turkey, there have been concerns brought up as to whether the votes will be free and fairand bear in whether the votes will be free and fair and bear in mind, whether the votes will be free and fairand bear in mind, these elections are to be held under a state of emergency. as selin mentioned there, the voting is being overshadowed by the fallout from the failed coup ofjuly 2016, when a section of the turkish milita