Voting under way in Turkish election

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s election campaign ended on Saturday as people prepared to vote for a new Parliament that will face a host of challenges: a presidential election, violence by Kurdish rebels and a growing divide over the role of Islam in society.

Today’s election was called early to defuse a political crisis over the Islamic-oriented ruling party’s choice of presidential candidate, and the three-month campaign has been peaceful. Turkey has made big strides after the economic and political chaos of past decades, but some fear today’s vote could deepen divisions in the mostly Muslim nation of 73 million people.

“It looks like this new government will also find it hard to elect the president. The current situation looks very blurry,” said Deniz Mat, a 22-year-old university graduate.

But he added: “Turkey is undergoing a fast pace of change, and I am hopeful for the future no matter which parties form the Parliament.”

Campaigning is prohibited today, when 42.5 million people are eligible to vote at nearly 160,000 polling stations. Fourteen parties and 700 independent candidates are in the running.