The official process for Türkiye’s upcoming local elections has begun, as political parties will start listing their candidates and the top election authority will announce the names of parties eligible to run in the upcoming polls in March.

The Supreme Election Council (YSK) is expected to stop importing data from the central civil registration system (MERNIS), which is used to update and store voter rolls on Monday.

On Tuesday, YSK will announce the names of eligible political parties and on Wednesday, the top election authority will request them to inform it about which procedures and principles they will use to determine candidates. The parties will have until January 10 to inform the YSK.

On January 17, the final voter list will be determined and it is also the last day for people with special assistance needs to submit an application for a mobile ballot to be brought to the place they’re residing in.

On January 27, the YSK will have a draw to determine the spots for each political party on the ballot box. Jan. 31 will be the last day for political parties to submit their candidacy lists to the relevant authorities.

On February 7, the YSK will start assigning voters with ballot boxes and will finish this process by Feb. 11. Five days later, local election boards will start necessary preliminary preparations to print the ballots.

The temporary candidate lists will be announced on Feb. 23 and the final candidate lists will be announced on March 3.

On March 21, the YSK will impose a ban on election propaganda, which will end on March 30.

Voters will head to the ballot boxes on March 31 to elect mayors, district mayors and local headmen called mukhtars in villages and neighborhoods.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) looks to recapture key cities, including Istanbul and the capital Ankara.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) recently finalized its mayoral candidates for 227 electoral districts, including four metropolitan cities.

The decision, made at the party assembly, sees the re-nomination of Ekrem İmamoğlu in Istanbul and Mansur Yavaş in capital Ankara.

The stage is now set for a dynamic and competitive electoral landscape as both major parties gear up for the upcoming vote.

Istanbul, as the country’s largest city and economic hub, stands as a focal point in Türkiye’s political landscape, acting as a stronghold for various political movements.