Turkey votes in crucial elections against backdrop of violence

Barely a month after Turkish capital Ankara was rocked by a bomb that killed 102 people, Turkish voters are going to the polls in parliamentary elections amid increased tension spilling over from neighbouring Syria and renewed tensions over the 30-year-old Kurdish conflict.

More than 54 million people are registered to vote in the snap elections that were called by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after negotiations to form a coalition with the opposition following an inconclusive vote in June fell apart. In the June polls, the social conservative Justice and Development Party (AK) lost its 13-year single party rule, but four political parties that made their way to the parliament failed to produce a coalition government and snap elections were called.

Now the divisive figure of Erdoğan, accused by critics of authoritarianism, repression of his opponents and suppression of press freedom, is front and centre in polls that could put an end to what his critics say are ambitions to consolidate the power of his office and transform Turkey from a parliamentary system into a president-led republic.

The main opposition centre-left Republican People's Party (CHP) and far-right Nationalist Action Party (MHP), which respectively won 131 and 80 seats in the last elections, are the other main players in the polls - among the 16 political parties in the fray. Parties need to secure 276 seats to govern the country alone.

The unofficial election results are to be announced on Sunday evening and the country's election council will make the official ones public in several days.

The elections are taking place against a backdrop of instability and renewed violence. Last month, twin suicide bombings targeted a peace rally in the capital, Ankara, killing dozens of people in the worst ever terrorist attack on Turkish soil. Another attack in the town of Suruç near the Syrian border killed 32 people, mostly Kurdish activists.

An escalating conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group fighting for more rights for Turkey's ethnic Kurds, has killed scores of Turkish soldiers since a ceasefire and talks between the sides broke down in July. Critics also say the government’s policy on Syria, which involves backing rebels fighting to overthrow the president, Bashar al-Assad, has contributed to instability.

Turkey hosts more than 2 million Syrian refugees, many of whom go on to attempt dangerous passages across the Mediterranean seeking refuge in Europe.