This footage was filmed and produced 31 March 2024.

Storyline:
Turkey started its local election on Sunday to elect mayors, local parliament members, and other officials across the country, and according to the votes counted so far, the opposition party takes lead in key cities.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Monday that the ruling Justice and Development Party under his leadership failed to achieve the desired results in the election.

Thirty-four parties in the country are competing with more than 61 million voters registered, including more than 1.3 million young people voting for the first time.

The Supreme Election Commission set up 200,000 polling stations across the country.

Istanbul saw the most intense competition. Each ballot extends for more than one metre, as a total of 22 political parties and 27 independent candidates are running for the post of city mayor.

As of 2:00 local time on Monday, results announced by a Turkish local news agency showed that current Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, main member of opposition party Republican People's Party, or CHP, is on the way to another term.

In the capital Ankara and in western and southern coastal cities like Izmir and Antalya, CHP candidates are also in the lead; while in central parts of the country and some regions of the Black Sea coast, candidates from the ruling Justice and Development Party are the front runners.

Local elections in Turkey are held every five years, and analysts believe that this year's results may become a weathercock for the country's political trends in the next few years.

Shotlist:
1. Entrance of polling station in Istanbul, Turkey, March 31, 2024;
2. Various of voters;
3. Various of voters at polling station, putting votes into boxes in Turkey - March 31, 2024;
4. Box with votes;
5. Istanbul, Turkey, March 31, 2024:
SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Can Cobanoglu, resident:
"Istanbul is a metropolis, home to about 20 percent of the country's population. The election result here will largely represent what people think, and reflect Turkey's development and political direction.";
6. Votes in Turkey, March 31, 2024;
7. Staff members working at polling station;
8. Ankara, Turkey, March 31, 2024:
SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Goksel, resident (full name not given):
"I think the local election may have an impact on the next national election and become a bellwether for that. So I think the election here is very important."
9. Various of residents voting in Turkey, March 31, 2024;
10. Ankara, Turkey, March 31, 2024:
SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Mehmet, resident (full name not given):
"The results of local elections will definitely affect Turkey's political agenda as it reflects the will of voters. It is expected to affect the topics of each party's discussions, and the meaning has beyond local election itself."
11. Various of residents voting in Turkey, March 31, 2024;
12. Corridor of polling station.

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