Kemal Kilicdaroglu

Following an inconclusive result in the initial vote necessitating a runoff election between the top two contenders, incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Nation Alliance's candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Turkish citizens are poised to cast their ballots once again on May 28.

Election posters of Turkish presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the opposition Republican People's Party, in Istanbul, 25 May 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

"If there is no change at the ballot box, it will be a disaster in the economy and democracy," Demirtas wrote on Twitter on Friday.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan aims to extend his rule into a third decade in an election on Sunday, with the momentum seen in his favor in the runoff vote after a first round showed him ahead of his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

The votes cast by Turkish citizens living abroad for the presidential election runoff, slated for May 28 at home, have reached the capital Ankara.

Votes cast at the ballot boxes reinstalled at 167 points in 151 representative offices across 73 countries were brought to Türkiye by "diplomatic couriers" under high security after voting at diplomatic missions ended on May 24.

Republican People's Party (CHP) leader and Nation Alliance's presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has pledged the citizens to make regulations in order to ease the burden of credit card debts if he is elected as the president in the May 28 polls.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the 85 million citizens of Türkiye will benefit from the outcome of the May 28 polls if the People's Alliance wins the presidential election runoff.

"If we win on May 28, each of the 85 million individuals will also win," Erdoğan said in an interview with broadcasters Kanal D and CNN Türk on May 25.

Illustration: BIRN/Igor Vujcic

On May 14, Erdogan's People's Allaince secured a comfortable majority in parliament and Erdogan himself received 49.5 per cent of the total vote in the presidential race.

He now aims to cement his rule for another five years by beating his main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the opposition's joint champion, in the seond round.

Two opposing visions for Turkey's future are on the ballot when voters return to the polls Sunday for a runoff presidential election that will decide between an increasingly authoritarian incumbent and a challenger who has pledged to restore democracy.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pledged on May 24 to ensure that the legislature, executive and judiciary organs would work in harmony in the coming period.

"We will do this with your support," Erdoğan said at a rally in the capital Ankara.

Victory Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ announced on May 24 that they will support Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the candidate of the Nation Alliance, in the presidential election runoff.