Turkey's Supreme Board of Election on Sunday announced a timetable for the local elections set for March 29, 2009, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.
The timetable which was issued at the Official Gazette said Turkey's election campaign would take place between March 19 and 28, adding that voter registry lists would be on display between Jan. 5 and 30, Xinhua reported.
According to the report, a drawing of lots for determining the order of appearance of political party names on the ballot paper will take place on Jan. 24, and lists of candidates will be announced on March 1, 2009.
A recent poll showed that public support for Turkey's opposition parties is rising, while ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is losing ground ahead of the local elections.
According to the poll conducted by the AKP to determine its candidate for mayor in the capital, public support for the AKP stands at 40 percent, while the main opposition, the staunchly secularist Republican People's Party (CHP) gets 36.2 percent of the votes.