Upcoming elections

Turkey will hold early presidential and general elections on Jun 24, 2018. Presidential elections are considered critical as for the first time the candidate elected will govern with full presidential powers, which will effectively mark a shift of the country’s form of government to a presidential system. Six candidates are running for the Presidential elections: Ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) leader and incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Muharrem İnce; pro-Kurdish and left-wing bloc Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP) former co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş, who is currently jailed since November 2016; right-wing nationalist GOOD Party’s (İYİ) Meral Akşener, İslamist Felicity Party’s (SP) Temel Karamollaoğlu and left-wing nationalist Patriotic Party’s (VP) Doğu Perinçek. Meanwhile party’s have formed two alliances for the general elections to avoid being left out of the Parliament as a result of the national election threshold, which still controversially remains at 10 percent. The AKP will run with the nationalist National Movement Party (MHP) as a return of favour to the latter for lending its support to Erdoğan in the presidential elections. Meanwhile CHP will run with the newly established İTİ Party, the SP and the once very powerful center-right Democratic Party (DP). The two alliances leave pro-Kurdish HDP in a critical position. If HDP surpasses the threshold and enters the Parliament, it will likely prevent the AKP-MHP coalition the earn a majority of seats.