Politics of Turkey

Opposition Nation Alliance's presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has described the May 28 runoff voting as a brand new election, calling on the people to get mobilized for bringing a change to the country, and stated he received the messages conveyed by the people to him in the first round of the polls.

Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Nation Alliance's candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu are both expected to target around 8 million citizens who chose not to vote on May 14 after failing to pass the 50 percent vote threshold in the first ballot and prompting the second round.

But Kılıçdaroğlu faces a higher bar much in the second round. Erdoğan is only short of around 550,000 votes to win, if the turnout remains at around 88.92 per cent, as was the case in the first round. Kılıçdaroğlu needs to acquire at least 2.7 million more votes.

The weakness exhibited by the opposition in Turkey's elections on Sunday highlights the firm grip of the Erdogan regime in a country that is progressively distancing itself from its European aspirations. Presently, the prevailing scenario validates a nationalist and theocratic perspective, disregarding the economic downturn, the catastrophic earthquakes, and Turkey's international isolation.

The six-party Nation Alliance has met to discuss the strategy they will follow for the second round of the presidential polls in which Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is running as their joint candidate.

While individuals may not necessarily have a decisive role in shaping and exercising a state's politics, in the case of Turkey, due to poor institutions and the overconcentration of power in the Ak Saray, or the White Palace, Recep Tayyip Erdogan wields significant influence in foreign policy.

U.S. President Joe Biden is "looking forward to working with whoever" wins Türkiye's knife-edge election, the White House has said on May 15 as it praised the NATO ally for holding a peaceful vote for the runoff.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has expressed on May 16 that he is confident of having more votes in the presidential runoff on May 28.

"May 28 will be very, very different. This will be a signal. I think we will wake up on May 29 very differently. I believe we will get a lot of votes," Erdoğan said in a televised interview with CNN Turk and Kanal D.

Sinan Oğan from the Ata Alliance who has received five percent of votes in the first round of the presidential elections says he will make his decision on who to support in the run-off vote in a few days.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has predicted in its latest Regional Economic Prospects report that Türkiye's earthquake-hit economy will grow 2.5 percent in 2023.

This was lower than the 3 percent growth GDP expansion forecast in the previous report.

The Turkish growth is expected to bounce to 3 percent in 2024, according to the developments bank.