In the electoral race for the post of head of state Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu run, which has served as a diplomat in Turkey for many years; Selahattin Demirtas, Kurdish politician and leader of both the left-wing Party of the People; and current Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The three candidates representing different political ideologies.
But, according to the Turkish Constitution, if no one receives 50% + 1 of the vote, is expected to hold a second round of elections on 24 August.
Erdogan victory would put him in history as the country's first president elected by the people, after more than a decade as prime minister of the country, during which Turkey has emerged as a regional economic power, but that with wide support religious conservative, she is transforming many of the secular republic founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923.
But his critics warn that Erdogan, the role of the President, given his deep roots in Islamic politics and intolerance towards controversy, would bring the country a member of NATO and a candidate for EU membership far beyond Ataturk's secular ideals.
In one of the central district of Istanbul, where objections to Erdogan are strong, some voters said they did not want an authoritarian president, but one that would be impartial and comprehensive.
"We do not want an authoritarian president and tarnished, we want to protect a parliamentary system and the interests of the people," said architect Ahmet Kensoy, 62. "He must be independent and impartial, including all of society."
About 53 million Turks are eligible to vote, as the process has started since starting at 7 am (8 am local time) and will end at 16:00 (or 17:00 local time). However, unlike the local electoral process of March, this time there were very few people in the polls during the early hours.
Polls suggest that Erdogan, 60 years already, will be released very advanced from two other rivals competing for a five-year term as President. In the past, Parliament was he who chose the head of state, but the law is changed by a law promoted by the government of Erdogan.
It aims to lead the country for two presidential terms, which would keep him in power until 2023, when it will be marked 100th anniversary of Ataturk's secular Republic. A date that, for a leader who frequently refers in speeches Ottoman history, has a special significance.
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