Week in Review: Electoral Rollercoaster Ahead

Kemal Ghandi

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu speaks during an anti-government rally in Istanbul, Turkey, 21 May 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

After a tense few days of bickering, Turkey's opposition parties - united in the National Alliance - have agreed upon a joint candidate to challenge the AKP's Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the Turkish Presidency. Their candidate will be Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the CHP.

Kilicdaroglu may not be bursting with charisma, but he has a calm, elderly statesman air about him. To date, he has lost a number of elections to Erdogan. But is the luck of the 'Turkish Ghandi' about to change?

Read more: Kilicdaroglu: Turkey's 'Gandhi' Musters Opposition to Defeat Erdogan (March 9, 2023)

A Cliff-hanger

Montenegrin president election candidates billboards in Podgorica. Photo: BIRN/Samir Kajosevic

Ten days before the first round of voting in the Montenegrin presidential elections, the race is wide open, its outcome far from uncertain. Six candidates are vying to unseat Montenegro's leader of three decades, current President Milo Djukanovic.

To spice things up, the election has been as much about jockeying over who can - and cannot - challenge Djukanovic as anything else. Our analysis takes a look at the course of this peculiar race so far, as well as what could shape its outcome.

Read more: Serbian Cameo Injects Fresh Uncertainty into Montenegrin Presidential Race (March 7, 2023)

Fifth Attempt

If frequent elections were a good thing, then Bulgaria could be said to be on a roll. On April 2, the country will hold its fifth Parliamentary elections in two years. It is anything but certain that this will be the...