Ankara, June 7: Over 53 million people in Turkey went to the polls on Sunday to cast their votes in general elections which will reshuffle the 550-seat parliament and also define the new government for the next four years. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has framed the general elections as a key hurdle on the path to the powerful presidential system that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted to introduce, Hurriyet Daily News reported. However, if the Kurdish problem-focused Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) crosses the 10 percent election threshold, the number of AKP lawmakers will decrease considerably, making it almost impossible to reach the 330 seats necessary for a constitutiol change. The state would maintain security on election day with 404,000 security personnel, Interior Minister Sebahattin öztürk said, adding that 300,000 of the forces would be police officers. (IANS)