ANKARA, August 10 (RIA Novosti) - Turkey's first direct presidential vote opened Sunday with the parliament calling to withhold disputes and welcome the elected president based on the results of the poll.
"Whoever gets elected today, I suggest we accept the elected president and say 'Mister President' to him tomorrow, without starting any arguments or objections," Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey Jemil Chichek said at a voting station in Ankara.
"Unfortunately, we have a habit to start discussions after elections. Let's respect the democratic values," he added.
The current elections are the first direct presidential vote in Turkey. Since 1923, the country's leader was appointed by the parliament, until Turkey adopted a number of constitutional amendments providing for the popular presidential vote in 2007.
More than 165,000 polling stations opened at 5:00 GMT and will accept votes until 14:00 GMT. Nearly 53 million people are expected to cast their votes.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), serving his third and last term as Prime Minister, is widely seen as a potential winner. His rivals include the candidate of two opposition parties Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, and the Peoples' Democratic Party nominee Selahattin Demirtas.
If no candidate wins a simple majority, the second round will be held on August 24.
