Turkey's conservative ruling party looked poised to win a strong mandate in Sunday's local council elections to press ahead with EU-inspired economic and political reforms, early unofficial results showed.
A clear victory for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) could also boost its hand in key talks to reunite Cyprus. Some in the secular establishment, wary of the AKP because of its Islamist roots, fear a "sellout" of Turkish interests in Cyprus.
Sporadic violence marred voting in some eastern municipal districts, not an uncommon feature of Turkish polls. At least four men were killed in separate incidents triggered by political rivalry, NTV television said. More than 100 people were hurt in brawls.
Polling stations in western Turkey closed at 1400 GMT.
Early returns from mainly Kurdish eastern Turkey, where polling ended an hour earlier, confirmed the AKP's strength, though the small, left-wing Social Democratic People's Party (SHP) made gains, helped by backing from the pro-Kurdish DEHAP party which was not fielding its own candidates.
Partial results in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city and business hub, showed the AKP winning almost half of the votes cast, with the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) trailing on 16 percent.
"This is the best opportunity for our citizens to express their will. Let it be an auspicious election for the Turkish nation and for Turkish democracy," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told reporters as he cast his vote in Ankara.
Erdogan's party was founded less than three years ago but won a resounding victory in a November 2002 general election which crushed the established parties.
The AKP has since presided over strong economic growth and the lowest inflation in 25 years, winning the broad support of Turkey's main creditor, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and of the European Union, which Ankara aspires to join.
In a sign of its self-confidence, the government recently increased taxes on fuel, tobacco and alcohol to help meet pledges to the IMF - not the gesture of a party worried about its electoral prospects.
Political analysts expect a strong AKP win to embolden the government to push through more reforms, including abolition of state security courts and removing military representatives from the higher education board, in line with EU requests.
Casting his ballot in Ankara, the head of Turkey's armed forces made clear the military remained vigilant to any threats to Turkey's secular political order.
7 DEAD, SCORES INJURED: Seven people were killed and dozens injured in election-related violence over the weekend as Turks turned out to vote in local elections Sunday, Anatolia news agency reported.
Much of the violence centred on Kurdish areas in the east and south-east of the country.
One person was killed and 17 hurt in fighting between supporters of different parties in the south-eastern town of Sanliurfa, Anatolia said.
In the south-eastern town of Siirt, which sent Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to parliament a year ago, the brother of a local candidate from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was killed late Sunday in a brawl with members of the social democratic People's Party (SHP), Anatolia said.
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