Ahead of Turkey's snap elections, Erdogan faces three main challenges

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan might come to regret calling snap elections. Instead of catching the opposition off guard, as he hoped, his Justice and Development Party (AKP) could actually lose its parliamentary majority, and there's a chance that Erdogan won't even remain president.

The June 24 election is the first in which Turks will vote simultaneously for president and for parliamentary seats. In April 2017, voters approved amendments to the Turkish constitution in a national referendum that - passed by a slim 51 to 49 percent margin - transformed Turkey's parliamentary system to a tightly centralized presidential one. The referendum was held under emergency rule and in a tense political climate that largely favored Erdogan and his government.

Yet Erdogan won only by a whisker. This time, three main factors - a surprisingly strong opposition, a...