Republican People's Party

Turkish voters at a polling station in Ankara, Turkey, 14 May 2023, as the country holds simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections. Photo: EPA-EFE/MANUEL DE ALMEIDA

Opposition Nation Alliance's joint president candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has cast his vote with hopes that "spring will come" to Türkiye as a result of the landmark 2023 presidential and parliamentary polls.

Accompanied by Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, Kılıçdaroğlu voted in a school in the Turkish capital Ankara with his wife, Selvi Kılıçdaroğlu.

• More than 64 million Turkish citizens are eligible to vote in the polls. They will choose between three presidential candidates and 36 parties in 87 electoral districts.
• Voters will decide the fate of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP as they face a united democratic opposition.

President Tayyip Erdogan's opponents say they will repair the damage done to human rights during his rule, promising a new era for democracy and freedoms if he loses power in an election on Sunday.

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the presidential candidate of the six-party Nation Alliance visited Anıtkabir on May 13, a day before the critical elections. 

Anıtkabir is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the country's War of Independence and founder of modern Türkiye.

Presidential and parliamentary elections have begun at 8 am local time.

"As of now, all measures for healthy and secure elections have been taken by the Supreme Election Board [YSK] and its election committees in the provinces and districts," YSK head Ahmet Yener told the journalists on May 12.

All sealed bags containing nearly 1.8 million overseas votes have reached the capital Ankara, with the bags kept safe in a tight security room protected with five locks.

Some 60 million Turks will cast their votes on May 14 to elect their 13th president and the 600-seat parliament in an election that many describe as the most critical one not only for Türkiye but also for the wider region.

Supporters of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan take a part in a choreography during a 'Unity, Will, Victory' rally at Galatasaray's Nef Stadium in Istanbul, 27 November 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

As President Erdogan finds himself in troubled waters after ruling the country for 21 years, the political atmosphere is tense and both sides predict victory.

Muharrem Ince, leader of the Homeland Party and former presidential candidate for Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party, CHP. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA

"I will leave them no excuses. Otherwise, they will put the blame on us [if incumbent President Erdogan's wins]," Ince told a press conference in Ankara in front of his party headquarters.