Voting started at 7.00 a.m local time (0400GMT) and will continue through 4.00 p.m. local time (1300GMT) in 32 out of Turkey’s 81 provinces.
In the remaining provinces, polling stations will open at 8.00 a.m and close at 5.00 p.m. local time (0500-1400GMT).
Voters living in Turkey’s larger cities will vote to elect a mayor for the entire city, as well as district municipal mayors, city council members, mukhtars (neighborhood officials), and members of elder councils.
The voters will choose from 12 political parties competing in the local elections.
More than 44 million citizens are expected to vote at 142,777 polling places in 30 biggest cities, called metropolitan municipalities.
Meanwhile, 12.8 million voters will vote at 51,851 polling places across 51 provinces in Turkey.
Turkey is holding its first local elections under the new presidential system, adopted in the April 2017 referendum.
The previous local elections were held in 2014.
Election broadcast ban
Election campaigns ended and a broadcast ban entered into force on Saturday in Turkey, as the country heads to local elections on Sunday.
According to the ban imposed by the Supreme Election Council (YSK), media organizations will not be allowed to broadcast any political advertising, predictions or comments about the polls from 6 p.m. local time (1500GMT) until 9 p.m. (1800GMT) on Sunday.
The YSK reserves the right to lift the broadcasting bans before 9 p.m. on Sunday.