DHAKA: Voting is under way across Turkey for the country’s first ever presidential election put to a popular vote.

Three candidates are vying for the position, including current prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

If none of the candidates gets above 50% of the vote, a second round will be held on 24 August.

Erdogan, 60, says that if he wins he wants to turn the largely ceremonial post of president into the country’s executive powerhouse.

He has been prime minister since 2003 and is barred from standing for that office again.

Polls opened at 08:00 local time (05:00 GMT) and close at 17:00, reports the BBC.

Erdogan’s two rivals are a little-known diplomat, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, and Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas.

BDST: 1222 HRS, AUG 10, 2014