2018 Turkish presidential election

Last updated

2018 Turkish presidential election
Flag of Turkey.svg
←  2014 24 June 2018 2023  →
Opinion polls
Turnout86.24% (Increase2.svg 12.11 pp)
  Recep Tayyip Erdogan 2018 (cropped).jpg Muharrem Ince (cropped).jpg
Candidate Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Muharrem İnce
Party AK Party CHP
Alliance People Nation
Popular vote26,330,82315,340,321
Percentage52.59%30.64%
  Selahattin Demirtas 2018 (cropped).jpg Meral Aksener IYI Party 1 (cropped).jpg
Candidate Selahattin Demirtaş [lower-alpha 1] Meral Akşener
Party HDP İYİ
Alliance HDK [lower-alpha 2] Nation
Popular vote4,205,7943,649,030
Percentage8.40%7.29%
2018 Turkish presidential election map.svg
Results by province
President before election

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
AK Party

Elected President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
AK Party

Presidential elections were held in Turkey on 24 June 2018 as part of the 2018 general election, alongside parliamentary elections on the same day. They were the first presidential elections held after constitutional amendments were approved in a 2017 referendum. [2]

Contents

The elections were originally scheduled for November 2019. President Erdoğan and MHP Chairman Bahçeli called for early elections, giving as reason to "not wait any longer" for the entry into force of the 2017 constitutional amendments. [3] Following this, with the 2018 elections, the office of prime minister was abolished and the first government under the presidential system took office.

Incumbent President Erdoğan declared his candidacy for the People's Alliance on 27 April 2018. The main opposition, the Republican People's Party, nominated Muharrem İnce, a member of parliament known for his combative opposition and spirited speeches against Erdoğan. [4] The Peoples' Democratic Party nominated Selahattin Demirtaş, its imprisoned former chairman. Besides these candidates, Meral Akşener, the founder and leader of the İyi Party, [5] Temel Karamollaoğlu, the leader of the Felicity Party, and Doğu Perinçek, the leader of the Patriotic Party, announced their candidacies and collected the 100,000 signatures required to stand.

Campaigning centred mainly on the faltering economy and the currency and debt crisis, with both government and opposition commentators warning of a more serious economic crisis following the elections. The 2018 Gaza border protests, following the United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, along with the Turkish military operation in Afrin, also featured in the campaign.

Electoral system

Ballot paper used for the 2018 presidential election Turkish presidential election 2018 ballot paper.jpg
Ballot paper used for the 2018 presidential election

The President of Turkey is directly elected through the two-round system, under which a candidate must obtain at least 50%+1 of the popular vote in order to be elected. If no candidate secures an overall majority outright, then a runoff is held between the two most voted-for candidates from the first round, the winner of which is then declared elected. The first direct election to the Turkish presidency was held in 2014, after a referendum in 2007 abolished the previous system under which the head of state was elected by the legislature, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The President of Turkey is subject to term limits, and may serve at most two consecutive five-year terms.[ citation needed ]

Prospective presidential candidates must be at least 40 years old and must have completed higher education. Any political party that has won 5% of the vote in the previous parliamentary election can put forward a candidate, although parties that have not met this threshold can form alliances and field joint candidates as long as their total vote share exceeds 5%. Independents can run if they collect 100,000 signatures from the electorate. [6] An estimate released in July 2017 predicted that collecting 100,000 signatures to stand for election could exceed ₺15 million (US$4.2 million) in costs, if each individual signature would require certification by a notary.[ citation needed ] However, the Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey (YSK) announced that signature collection would occur between 4 and 9 May, with voters having to submit their nominations at their local electoral council branch.[ citation needed ]

Based on the results of the previous general election in November 2015, only the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Republican People's Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) are eligible to field candidates for the presidential election. The remaining parties combined received under 3% of the vote and are thus unable to field either a joint candidate or a candidate in their own right. In addition to past election results, parties which have a parliamentary group can nominate a candidate. Thus, the newly formed İyi Party was also eligible to nominate their candidate, as 15 CHP members of parliament had defected to them with the intention of allowing the party to form a parliamentary group. However, İyi Party leader and presidential candidate Meral Akşener insisted on being nominated by collecting signatures rather than through parliament.[ citation needed ]

Candidates

Official candidates

The Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) formally announced the candidates on 13 May. [7]

Official list of presidential candidates in order they appear on the ballot paper [8]
123456
Muharrem Ince (cropped).jpg Meral Aksener IYI Party 1 (cropped).jpg
Recep Tayyip Erdogan 2018 (cropped).jpg
Selahattin Demirtas 2015-12-18 (cropped).jpg Temel-Karamollaoglu (cropped).jpg
Dogu Perincek 2 (cropped).jpg
Muharrem İnce Meral Akşener Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Selahattin Demirtaş Temel Karamollaoğlu Doğu Perinçek
CHP
(Nation Alliance)		 İYİ
(Nation Alliance)		 AK Party
(People's Alliance)		 HDP
(No alliance)		 Felicity
(Nation Alliance)		 Patriotic
(No alliance)
View campaign View campaign View campaign View campaign View campaign View campaign

Selection process

Former President Abdullah Gul announces that he will not stand as a presidential candidate on 28 April Abdullah Gul 2018 election announcement.png
Former President Abdullah Gül announces that he will not stand as a presidential candidate on 28 April

In the run-up to the election, various parties underwent a candidate selection process to nominate presidential candidates.

People's Alliance (AK Party and MHP)

Serving president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was widely seen as the undisputed candidate of the People's Alliance, an alliance set up by the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). This was confirmed by MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli on 21 April 2018. [9] The AK Party parliamentary group voted unanimously to nominate Erdoğan on 3 May. [10]

Republican People's Party (CHP)

Muharrem Ince being announced as the CHP's presidential candidate on 4 May Muharrem Ince presidential candidate.jpg
Muharrem İnce being announced as the CHP's presidential candidate on 4 May

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) began a wide search for a candidate, with several rumours that the party was content with supporting a cross-party candidate that was not necessarily in line with the party's values as part of an election alliance. CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu subsequently conducted several meetings with the leaders of the Felicity Party and the İyi Party. Former President Abdullah Gül was mentioned as a cross-party option, allegedly receiving the support of senior officials, but was disbanded following heavy opposition from the lower ranks and voters. Gül eventually announced that he would not stand, citing the lack of cross-party consensus. [11] Despite ruling it out several times, party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was frequently mentioned as a potential candidate, along with Yılmaz Büyükerşen, İlhan Kesici, Muharrem İnce and Mehmet Haberal. Certain MPs, such as Öztürk Yılmaz and Didem Engin also publicly declared their interest. [12] On 26 April, CHP MP Özgür Özel, himself seen as a potential candidate, announced that their nominee would be one who would make the AK Party 'crazy' the most. [13] On 4 May, Yalova MP Muharrem İnce was declared the party's candidate. [14]

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)

HDP co-leader Sezai Temelli Ayhan Bilgen, Bedia Ozgokce Ertan, Sezai Temelli, Hulya Alokmen Uyanik ve Adnan Selcuk Mizrakci. 7 Nisan 2019 Diyarbakir toplantisi.jpg
HDP co-leader Sezai Temelli

The HDP nominated Selahattin Demirtaş, their former leader who was also the HDP's candidate in 2014, on 4 May. [15] It was reported that the party executive had broadly agreed on Demirtaş earlier, raising concern that his preventative detention since 2016 could potentially bar him from running. Originally due in court on 11 April, Demirtaş's trial for charges of 'spreading terrorist propaganda' was delayed to 30 April, and then again to 8 June. [16] His candidacy was announced as a part of a 'broad coalition of Kurdish and left-wing parties'. [17] His lawyers and HDP officials claimed that his detention wouldn't affect his candidacy.[ citation needed ] In his first message after announcing his candidacy, he called on his supporters to be his 'hands and arms' during the campaign. [18]

İyi Party

Meral Aksener announcing her presidential ambitions during the establishment of the Iyi Party on 25 October 2017 Meral Aksener IYI Party 2.jpg
Meral Akşener announcing her presidential ambitions during the establishment of the İyi Party on 25 October 2017

Upon announcing the İyi Party's establishment on 25 October 2017, party leader Meral Akşener announced that she would be a candidate in the presidential election. [19] She reaffirmed her candidacy on 18 April 2018, shortly after the election was called. [20] The party subsequently received pressure from the CHP and the Felicity Party (SP) to enter a joint alliance and support a cross-party candidate, with the SP supporting Abdullah Gül.[ citation needed ] Akşener refused to withdraw her candidacy, with the party's General Administration Council voting unanimously to nominate her as their party candidate on 24 April 2018. [21]

Felicity Party (SP)

SP leader Temel Karamollaoglu and CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu meet to discuss a joint candidate on 23 April 2018 CHP and SP leader meeting.jpg
SP leader Temel Karamollaoğlu and CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu meet to discuss a joint candidate on 23 April 2018

In the run-up to the election, SP leader Temel Karamollaoğlu managed to carry his party to the mainstream media following a number of speeches where he heavily criticised the government. This led to the SP being regarded as a potential kingmaker in future alliances, causing several larger parties to approach Karamollaoğlu in a bid to field a joint candidate. Although this led to the Nation Alliance being established between the SP, CHP and the İyi Party, no consensus was reached on a joint presidential candidate and each party decided to nominate their own. The SP polled their members on four potential candidates, namely Karamollaoğlu, Abdullah Gül, Haşim Kılıç and Abdüllatif Şener. Karamollaoğlu was announced as the party's candidate on 1 May. [22]

Others

The left-wing Patriotic Party declared their leader Doğu Perinçek as their candidate. As part of a triple alliance of small centre-right parties consisting of the Motherland Party (ANAP), the True Path Party (DYP) and the Justice Party (AP), the AP's leader Vecdet Öz was nominated as a joint candidate. As independents, journalist Levent Gültekin and Tuna Bekleviç declared their intentions to run.[ citation needed ]

Nominations

Iyi Party candidate Meral Aksener on campaign IYI Party 1st Extraordinary Congress 1.jpg
İyi Party candidate Meral Akşener on campaign
Signatures received by each candidate between 4 and 9 May 2018 Turkish presidential election 2018 nomination signatures.png
Signatures received by each candidate between 4 and 9 May 2018

The Constitution of Turkey, amended following the 2017 constitutional referendum, allows any party with a parliamentary group (at least 20 MPs) to nominate a presidential candidate. This meant that the AK Party, CHP, HDP, MHP and technically the İyi Party were eligible to automatically nominate candidates through parliament. Meral Akşener, the İyi Party's leader and presidential candidate, opted to be nominated through signatures instead. The MHP, as part of the People's Alliance, did not field a candidate and announced support for the AK Party candidate Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The CHP formally nominated Muharrem İnce and the HDP nominated Selahattin Demirtaş. The remaining candidates were required to collect at least 100,000 signatures.

Voters were able to give signatures to their preferred presidential candidate between 4 May and 9 May at their local electoral council branch. They were only permitted to nominate one candidate. Seven candidates applied to the YSK to seek nomination by signatures, with three applications being rejected due to insufficient paperwork. As a result, the remaining four successful applicants were as follows.

Voters abroad were not eligible to give signatures, prompting Perinçek to appeal to the Constitutional Court, arguing that the YSK had violated the rights of Turkish citizens abroad. Overseas citizens were, however, allowed to send a signed declaration by post to their local electoral council in Turkey. Only 72 overseas citizens did so, with 17 signing for Akşener, 18 signing for Karamollaoğlu, 35 signing for Perinçek and no signatures for Öz. [23]

PartyCandidateDaily signaturesResult
4 May [24] 5 May [25] 6 May [26] 7 May [27] 8 May [28] 9 May [29]
İYİ Meral Akşener
Green check.svgY127,850
173,569
207,142
232,744
246,684
255,582
Green check.svgYNominated
SP Temel Karamollaoğlu
44,959
95,168
Green check.svgY135,945
150,134
160,680
167,967
Green check.svgYNominated
VATAN Doğu Perinçek
14,555
26,845
45,026
65,433
93,919
Green check.svgY118,575
Green check.svgYNominated
AP Vecdet Öz
231
706
1,256
2,015
2,505
3,030
Red x.svgNNot nominated
Totals
187,595
296,288
389,369
450,426
503,788
545,154

Campaign

Erdoğan campaign

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, incumbent President of Turkey since 2014, was officially nominated as the presidential candidate of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on 3 May 2018. [30] Shortly thereafter, the nominally oppositional Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) reiterated that it would endorse Erdoğan's candidacy, and would jointly apply to the electoral commission for its formal registration. [31] In early May, it was confirmed by Erdoğan that he would be visiting the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo in the early stages of the campaign, most likely on 20 May 2018, and hold campaign rallies with the Bosnian Turks to drum up support for his re-election bid. [32]

İnce campaign

Muharrem Ince at the CHP manifesto launch, 26 May CHP 2018 manifesto launch 1.jpg
Muharrem İnce at the CHP manifesto launch, 26 May

Muharrem İnce, a member of parliament for Yalova, was announced as the presidential candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP) on 3 May 2018. [33] On the following day, 4 May, party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu formally proclaimed the CHP's support for İnce. [34] Shortly thereafter, the CHP began preparations for the campaign season, launching the production of campaign material and merchandise. It was revealed in early May that İnce's campaign would adopt the slogan "Türkiye'ye güvence Muharrem İnce", roughly translating to "Muharrem İnce, an assurance to Turkey", [35] and that it would be kicked off with an election rally in his home city of Yalova on 5 May. [36]

Demirtaş campaign

Selahattin Demirtas's campaign being launched outside Edirne prison where he is incarcerated, 25 May Selahattin Demirtas 2018 campaign launch.jpg
Selahattin Demirtaş's campaign being launched outside Edirne prison where he is incarcerated, 25 May

Selahattin Demirtaş was officially announced as the candidate of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) on 4 May 2018, after members of the party had hinted at his candidacy weeks in advance.[ citation needed ] Party leader Pervin Buldan declared that Demirtaş, a jailed former co-chair of the HDP, would be leading a five-party "Kurdish alliance" into the general election. [37]

Akşener campaign

Meral Akşener was nominated as the candidate of the İyi Party on 4 May 2018, after she had successfully collected the 100,000 signatures required for minor party candidates to gain ballot access. Reportedly, she passed this threshold less than four hours after having launched her signature collection campaign. [38]

Karamollaoğlu campaign

Temel Karamollaoglu beginning his campaign on 1 May Temel Karamollaoglu presidential campaign.jpg
Temel Karamollaoğlu beginning his campaign on 1 May

Temel Karamollaoğlu was nominated as the candidate of the Felicity Party (SP) on 6 May 2018, after he had successfully collected the 100,000 signatures required for minor party candidates to gain ballot access. Karamollaoğlu's campaign adopted the slogan "Türkiye'ye bilge başkan" ("A wise leader for Turkey").

Perinçek campaign

Doğu Perinçek was nominated as the candidate of the VATAN Party on 9 May 2018, after he had successfully collected the 100,000 signatures required for minor party candidates to gain ballot access. [39]

Endorsements

Parties

CandidateEndorsementIdeology
MHP
 Nationalist Movement Party Ultranationalism
BBP
 Great Unity Party Sunni Islamism
HÜDAPAR
 Free Cause Party [40] Pan-Islamism
ANAP
 Motherland Party [41] Social conservatism
ASP
 AS Party [42] Militarism
İnce
CHP
YURT-P
 Homeland Party [43] Turkish nationalism
TİYAP
Underemployed and Pensioners' Party of Turkey [44] Social democracy
KP
 Women's Party [44] Feminism
EYP
Unhindered Life Party [44] Disability rights
BTP
Great Turkey Party [44] Liberal conservatism
MMP
 National Struggle Party [44] Turkish nationalism
MHHP
Defense of Rights Movement Party [44] Kemalism
TBP
Unity Party of Turkey [44] Kemalism
TBP
United Turkey Party [44] Turkish nationalism
GAP
Young Anatolia Party [44] National conservatism
AVATAN
 Motherland Party [45] Liberal conservatism
DBP
 Democratic Regions Party [46] Democratic confederalism
ÖDP
 Freedom and Solidarity Party [46] Socialism
TİP
 Workers' Party of Turkey [47] Communism
ÖSP
 Freedom and Socialism Party [46] Democratic socialism
EMEP
 Labour Party [48] Hoxhaism
PSK
 Kurdistan Socialist Party [46] Left-wing nationalism
PAK
 Kurdistan Freedom Party [49] Conservative liberalism
KDP-T
 Kurdistan Democratic Party/North [49] Kurdish nationalism
ESP
 Socialist Party of the Oppressed [50] Anti-revisionism
EHP
 Labourist Movement Party [50] Marxism–Leninism
DP
 Democratic Party Liberal conservatism
DYP
 True Path Party (Muğla branch) [51] Liberal conservatism
HEPAR
 Rights and Equality Party Turkish nationalism

NGOs and unions

Controversies

State of emergency

On 20 July 2016, five days after an attempted coup, the government declared a state of emergency (Turkish: Olağanüstü Hal, OHAL), allowing ministers to rule the country by decree, bypassing parliament and limiting certain civil freedoms. The government have frequently been criticised for violating the constitutional limits of a state of emergency, using it as an excuse for governing without any political opposition. Since 2016, the state of emergency has been extended for the sixth time, with parliament voting to extend it by a further three months on 18 January 2018. [52] The extension led to speculation that the election would occur under state of emergency conditions, similar to the 2017 constitutional referendum.[ citation needed ]

Heather Nauert, the Spokesperson for the United States Department of State and acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, issued a statement on 20 April citing 'concern' for whether free and fair elections would be possible under a state of emergency. [53] On 24 April, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued a statement calling for the elections to be delayed, declaring that they would not meet European standards or be held in a democratic manner.[ citation needed ] Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, also issued a statement calling for the state of emergency to end in order to guarantee credible elections. [54]

The calls to end the state of emergency were criticised by the Turkish government and loyal members of parliament, who called the PACE declaration 'politicised, unfair, unjust and beyond the limits'.[ citation needed ] Prime minister Binali Yıldırım criticised PACE for being 'non-credible' due to it having invited Democratic Union Party (PYD) chairman Salih Muslim, who is regarded as a terrorist leader by Turkey, to give a speech.[ citation needed ] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared Nauert's statements about a forthcoming election 'unacceptable'. [55]

Media censorship

Following his nomination as the CHP's presidential candidate on 4 May, Muharrem İnce began his campaign with a rally in his hometown of Yalova. It was noted that only pro-opposition TV channels such as Halk TV were covering the event, with the state broadcaster TRT notably absent. In his next rally at Balıkesir, İnce declared that if TRT were to continue not broadcasting opposition campaigns, he would march to the TRT headquarters with the CHP's 130 MPs and conduct his next rally in front of them. [56]

A similar situation was observed during the İyi Party's first extraordinary congress on 1 April, which was only covered by Halk TV. In response, party leader Meral Akşener claimed that she had not embarked on her campaign with any expectations from 'the government's media'. [57] The party subsequently sent the TRT photos from the congress, an abacus and a calculator as a 'present', so that they could count how many people attended the event. [58]

Election violence

Felicity Party leader and candidate Temel Karamollaoglu visits injured MP candidate Mehmet Fethi Ozturk in hospital, 26 May 2018 Temel Karamollaoglu hospital visit.jpg
Felicity Party leader and candidate Temel Karamollaoğlu visits injured MP candidate Mehmet Fethi Öztürk in hospital, 26 May 2018

On 7 May, a group armed with knives and clubs consisting of allegedly 50 to 60 people approached an İyi Party election stand in Bağcılar, Istanbul, wounding 8 people with one in critical condition. [59] [60] The group allegedly consisted of rival Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) campaigners, many of which had reportedly been suspended from the party for past violent activity. [61] A total of 8 people were arrested following the attack, with six being released and two being charged afterwards. [62]

On 8 May, the house of İyi Party founding member Mehmet Aslan in Beykoz, Istanbul was shot at by unknown assailants. Aslan was not in the building at the time. [63]

On 26 May, a group of Felicity Party and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) activists engaged in a brawl in Ankara following a dispute over hanging up party flags. Clubs were used by MHP activists, injuring 7 Felicity Party activists with two in serious condition. [64] Felicity Party MP candidate for Ankara, Mehmet Fethi Öztürk, was among the two seriously injured. Gunshots were also reported, which were blamed on Öztürk and led to his arrest while in hospital. [65]

Nomination irregularities

The Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey (YSK) had devised a system to collect signatures for voters to nominate candidates, with the process taking place between 4 and 9 May. On 8 May, Patriotic Party leader Doğu Perinçek, who by that time was close to reaching the 100,000 signatures needed for nomination, criticised the system for irregularities. Perinçek claimed that the system has crashed throughout 8 May, affecting people who wanted to give signatures, criticising the government for incompetence. [66] The crashes in the system caused doubt about whether Perinçek would reach the required 100,000 signatures by the 9 May deadline. [67] Regardless, Perinçek managed to surpass 100,000 signatures by noon on 9 May.[ citation needed ]

Leaked speech

During a leaked speech of a private meeting with AK Party officials, Erdoğan ordered them to go in a great number as official representatives in voting locations to seize control of the ballot boxes, ensuring that the "work there would be finished before it even started". He also ordered them to target HDP voters with the help of AK Party local officials who he assured them would be in possession of voters lists to help with their "special work". This would be done in order to prevent HDP crossing the 10% electoral threshold, which would greatly help the AK Party and prevent a repeat of the "7 June experience", [68] when the AK Party lost its parliamentary majority in an upset defeat.[ citation needed ]

Opinion polls

Opinion polls have been conducted to gauge voter intentions for the presidential election. Polls have generally shown a clear lead for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, though with vote totals below his 2014 election victory where he was elected with 51.8% of the vote outright. Indicating that a second round will most likely take place, the polls indicate that there is competition between Muharrem İnce and Meral Akşener over who will proceed to the run-off and face Erdoğan. Emboldened vote shares indicate percentages above 50%, indicating outright first round victory.

Graphical summary

2018 Turkish presidential election opinion polls (1st round).png

Voting intention

DatePollsterSample size Erdoğan İnce Akşener Demirtaş Karamollaoğlu Perinçek Lead 1Lead 2
16–17 Jun 2018 Gezici 1,81248.229.111.410.01.20.119.117.7
13 June 2018 Plus Mayak –45.828.913.110.21.80.216.915.8
13 June 2018 AKAM 2,46044.529.014.59.32.50.215.515.5
6–13 Jun 2018 REMRES 5,67443.629.512.311.43.00.214.117.2
11 June 2018 CHP –45.632.28.210.73.10.213.424.0
8–11 Jun 2018 Mediar 2,41048.029.99.210.22.10.818.119.7
6 June 2018 İyi Party –42.022.422.711.01.919.30.3
1–6 Jun 2018 MAK 5,40051.524.412.58.82.20.629.611.9
29 May–1 June 2018 Sonar 3,00048.331.49.58.22.10.516.921.9
28 May–1 June 2018 ORC 3,41053.423.811.58.72.10.529.612.3
1–28 May 2018 Konsensus 2,00047.926.814.89.70.70.121.112.0
22–23 May 2018 Mediar 4,26843.522.219.312.81.60.621.32.9
17–23 May 2018 REMRES 4,27642.224.616.912.33.80.217.67.7
13–20 May 2018 MAK 5,00051.423.912.39.62.20.627.511.6
7–17 May 2018 Sonar 3,00042.021.921.011.02.12.020.10.9
25 Apr–13 May 2018 Politic's 2,65052.225.512.38.51.10.426.713.2
6–9 May 2018 REMRES 3,65342.124.117.112.63.90.218.07.0
10 Aug 2014 Election [a] –51.7
(Erdoğan)		38.6
(İhsanoğlu)		—9.8
(Demirtaş)		——13.126.8

Results

CandidatePartyVotes%
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Justice and Development Party 26,330,82352.59
Muharrem İnce Republican People's Party 15,340,32130.64
Selahattin Demirtaş Peoples' Democratic Party 4,205,7948.40
Meral Akşener Good Party 3,649,0307.29
Temel Karamollaoğlu Felicity Party 443,7040.89
Doğu Perinçek Patriotic Party 98,9550.20
Total50,068,627100.00
Valid votes50,068,62797.79
Invalid/blank votes1,129,3322.21
Total votes51,197,959100.00
Registered voters/turnout59,367,46986.24
Source: YSK

By demographic groups

Sociology of the electorate
Demographic Erdoğan İnce Demirtaş Akşener Karamollaoğlu
Total Vote52.59%30.64%8.40%7.29%0.89%
Parliamentary election vote
AK PARTY 78%1%1%5%-
CHP 1%71%4%9%-
HDP 1%10%94%0%-
IYI 1%13%0%72%-
MHP 17%4%0%13%-
Nation+People

(Alliance vote)

2%1%0%1%-
1 November 2015 vote
AK PARTY 89%6%1%4%0%
CHP 6%89%1%4%0%
HDP 10%19%71%0%0%
MHP 45%25%0%25%1%
2017 Constitutional Referendum vote
Yes91%4%1%3%1%
No9%65%15%14%1%
When decided
Voting Day4%4%2%3%-
Final week3%3%1%9%-
Between last 1–4 weeks1%10%2%8%-
Between last 1–2 months3%13%6%9%-
Before 2 months89%72%87%69%-
No answer0%0%1%2%-
Age
18–29 years old50%30%11%8%1%
30–44 years old53%27%12%7%1%
45+ years old54%33%4%8%1%
Sex
Women54%35%5%6%0,2%
Men51%26%11%10%2%
Education
Elementary or less60%23%10%6%1%
High school52%32%6%9%1%
Bachelor's degree32%50%7%10%1%
Employment status
Employee51%32%8%8%1%
Unemployed49%27%17%6%1%
Housewife60%28%7%5%0%
Student/Non-working59%30%7%4%0%
Retired43%31%3%21%2%
Was the campaign process fair?
Fair83%19%25%26%-
Not fair14%76%75%69%-
No comment4%5%10%5%-
Future expectance
Better88%12%20%13%-
Same6%14%18%25%-
Worse3%69%55%53%-
Primary agenda of government should be
Economy38%44%25%52%
Fight against terrorism11%4%5%9%-
Education reform4%8%2%6%-
Start of solution process 3%3%21%9%-
Cancellation of OHAL 1%8%11%5%-
Law reform4%5%6%2%-
Foreign policy3%5%1%2%-
Human rights and democracy2%5%5%3%-
Source:Ipsos Turkey [69]

Notes

  1. ↑ In preventive detention in Edirne since 2016 [1]
  2. ↑ Supported by the left-wing political parties and groups of the HDK

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General elections were held in Turkey on 7 June 2015 to elect 550 members to the Grand National Assembly. This was the 24th general election in the history of the Turkish Republic, electing the country's 25th Parliament. The result was the first hung parliament since the 1999 general elections. Unsuccessful attempts to form a coalition government resulted in a snap general election being called for November 2015.

In the run-up to, during and after the Turkish general election of June 2015, numerous accusations of electoral fraud and violence were made by opposition parties. Electoral fraud in Turkey has usually been most extensive during local elections, where individual votes have significantly larger impact in determining local administrations. Although the 2014 presidential election saw little evidence of electoral misconduct, issues regarding voter records as well as extensive media bias have been controversial issues that have remained largely unaddressed. In both the local and presidential elections in 2014, several voters reported that ballot papers had been sent to addresses that are wrong or do not exist as well as voters that have been dead for a substantial amount of time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">November 2015 Turkish general election</span>

General elections were held in Turkey on 1 November 2015 to elect 550 members to the Grand National Assembly. They were the 25th general elections in the History of the Republic of Turkey and elected the country's 26th Parliament. The election resulted in the Justice and Development Party (AKP) regaining a parliamentary majority following a 'shock' victory, having lost it five months earlier in the June 2015 general elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June–July 2015 Turkish Parliament Speaker election</span>

The June–July 2015 Turkish Parliament Speaker Elections were held on June 30 and July 1 in order to elect the next Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The election took place due to the election of a new parliament in the 7 June 2015 general election. Outgoing speaker of the 24th Parliament, AKP member Cemil Çiçek, was ineligible to stand as he stood down as an MP at the general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Turkish parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Turkey on 14 May 2023, alongside presidential elections, to elect all 600 members of the Grand National Assembly. The incoming members formed the 28th Parliament of Turkey. The elections had originally been scheduled to take place on June 18, but the government moved them forward by a month to avoid coinciding with the university exams, the Hajj pilgrimage and the start of the summer holidays. Prior to the election, the electoral threshold for a party to enter parliament was lowered from 10% to 7% by the ruling party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Turkish local elections</span> Municipal elections in Turkey

The Turkish local elections of 2019 were held on Sunday 31 March 2019 throughout the 81 provinces of Turkey. A total of 30 metropolitan and 1,351 district municipal mayors, alongside 1,251 provincial and 20,500 municipal councillors were elected, in addition to numerous local non-partisan positions such as neighbourhood representatives (muhtars) and elderly people's councils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Party</span> Political party in Turkey

The Good Party is a nationalist and Kemalist political party in Turkey, established on 25 October 2017 by its current leader Meral Akşener. The party's name and flag is a reference to the tamga of the Kayı tribe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Turkish parliamentary election</span>


Parliamentary elections were held in Turkey on 24 June 2018 as part of general elections, with presidential elections taking place on the same day. Originally scheduled for 27 October 2019, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called snap elections on 18 April after months of speculation. With the passage of a series of constitutional amendments in the 2017 referendum, the number of MPs will be increased from the previous 550 to 600. These representatives will be elected by the constituents of the 87 electoral districts of Turkey by party-list proportional representation.

The Nation Alliance, abbreviated as NATION, was an electoral and political alliance in Turkey, made up of six opposition parties to contest the 2023 Turkish general election against its main rival, the People's Alliance. Originally established prior to the country's 2018 general election, the alliance had consisted of four opposition parties across the political spectrum, which had found common ground on withstanding Turkey's newly established presidential system. The alliance dissolved in 1 June 2023 following its narrow defeat in the 2023 elections, after the Good Party's announcement that they were no longer a part of it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Muharrem İnce presidential campaign</span>

Muharrem İnce, a member of parliament for Yalova, was announced as the presidential candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP) on 3 May 2018. The following day, on 4 May, party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu formally proclaimed the CHP's support for İnce. Shortly thereafter, the CHP began preparations for the campaign season, launching the production of campaign material and merchandise. It was revealed in early May that İnce's campaign would adopt the slogan “Türkiye’ye güvence Muharrem İnce”, roughly translating to "Muharrem İnce, an assurance to Turkey." The campaign began with an election rally in his home city of Yalova on 5 May.

Multiple political parties in Turkey underwent candidate selection processes in the run-up to the 2018 presidential election. Parties represented in the Grand National Assembly were able to field candidates directly by collecting signatures from at least 20 of their Members of Parliament, as were parties who had no representation but won more than 5% in the previous general election. Candidates that did not meet either criterion were required to obtain over 100,000 signatures from Turkish citizens between 4 and 9 May.

The 12th Nationalist Movement Party Ordinary Congress was a political party convention held by the Turkish right-wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on 18 March 2018. The Congress resulted in the re-election of Devlet Bahçeli as party leader, having been the only candidate.

In the run up to the 2023 Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections, held on 14 May 2023, various organizations carry out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in Turkey. Results of such polls are displayed in this article. These polls only include Turkish voters nationwide and do not take into account Turkish expatriates voting abroad. The date range for these opinion polls are from the previous general election, held on 24 June 2018, to the present day.

In the run up to the 2023 Turkish presidential election, with its first round held on 14 May and a second round on 28 May, various organisations carried out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in Turkey. Results of such polls are displayed in this article. These polls only include Turkish voters nationwide and do not take into account Turkish expatriates voting abroad. The date range for these opinion polls are from the previous general election, held on 24 June 2018, to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Turkish presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Turkey in May 2023, alongside parliamentary elections, to elect a president for a term of five years. Dubbed the most important election of 2023, the presidential election went to a run-off for the first time in Turkish history. The election had originally been scheduled to take place on 18 June, but the government moved them forward by a month to avoid coinciding with the university exams, the Hajj pilgrimage and the start of the summer holidays. It is estimated that a total of 64 million voters had the right to cast their votes in elections, 60.9 million in Turkey and 3.2 million abroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Turkish local elections</span>

Local elections in Turkey took place throughout the country's 81 provinces on 31 March 2024. A total of 30 metropolitan and 1,363 district municipal mayors, alongside 1,282 provincial and 21,001 municipal councilors were elected, in addition to numerous local non-partisan positions such as neighborhood representatives (muhtars) and elderly people's councils.

In the lead up to the 2023 Turkish presidential election, discussions took place around the nomination of presidential candidates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Sinan Oğan presidential campaign</span> Presidential campaign

Sinan Oğan became the joint presidential candidate of the Ancestral Alliance in the 2023 Turkish presidential election.

References

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  2. ↑ "Turkey referendum: Erdoğan wins vote amid dispute over ballots – as it happened | World news". The Guardian. 16 April 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  3. ↑ "Erdoğan erken seçim tarihini açıkladı". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 18 April 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "Turkey's main opposition nominates combative former teacher to challenge Erdogan". Reuters. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "100 bin imzayla Cumhurbaşkanı adayı olacağım". NTV. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Anayasa değişikliği maddeleri tam metni | Yeni anayasa maddeleri nelerdir? | Son Dakika Türkiye Haberleri". Cnnturk.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ↑ "YSK'da kura çekimleri yapıldı! Cumhurbaşkanı adaylarının sıralaması belli oldu". 14 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  9. ↑ "MHP Genel Başkanı Devlet Bahçeli: Adayımız Sayın Recep Tayyip Erdoğan'dır". 21 April 2018.
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  13. ↑ "CHP'li Özgür Özel: 'Erdoğan'ı en çıldırtacak adayı açıklayacağız'". CNN Türk. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
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  15. ↑ "HDP'nin Cumhurbaşkanı adayı Selahattin Demirtaş oldu". 4 May 2018.
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  22. ↑ "Saadet Partisi'nin Cumhurbaşkanı adayı Temel Karamollaoğlu oldu". 2 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
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  24. ↑ "100 Bin İmzada İlk Gün Atılan İmza Sayıları Belli Oldu - Bingöl Net - Bingöl Haberleri - Bingöl Son Dakika". 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
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