Results, candidates, issues: Turkey election run-off in 400 words

By William On May 28, 2023

A simple guide to the confrontation between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the main opposition candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

People all over Turkey cast their votes in the presidential elections.

Here’s everything you need to know:

Incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 69, wants to extend his 20 years in power for another five years.
He is up against 74-year-old Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the main opposition candidate.
In the first round on May 14, Erdogan won nearly 50 percent of the vote, followed by Kilicdaroglu with about 45 percent.
Sinan Ogan, an ultra-nationalist who was eliminated from the race after coming third in the first round with 5.2 percent of the vote, has thrown his support behind Erdogan.
Sunday is the first time that Turkish voters have to go to the polls for the second time to choose their next president.

to vote

The polling places opened at 08:00 (05:00 GMT) and closed at 17:00 (14:00 GMT).
With only two candidates facing each other, results are widely expected to be available earlier than the first round – possibly in the evening.
You can follow the results here.
Turnout was strong all day and observers expect turnout to be high. Turnout was 89 percent in the first round.
As on May 14, Turkish citizens living abroad cast their ballots before election day. About 1.9 million voted in 73 countries and at border gates.
Erdogan cast his vote in Istanbul, while Kilicdaroglu voted in the capital Ankara.

The vote went off without a hitch, according to election officials.
In the run-up to the first round, the campaign focused largely on the state of Turkey’s economy and the response to the devastating earthquakes in February that killed tens of thousands of people in the south.
The campaign changed especially after the first round, with the plight of refugees in Turkey and ‘terrorism’ predominating.
Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party) along with its allies won a majority in parliament in polls two weeks ago.
The AK Party took first place in 10 of the 11 provinces affected by the earthquakes, despite criticism for a slow initial response to the disaster.
In the second round, voter numbers surged with more than 47,500 people turning 18 in the past two weeks, bringing the electorate in Turkey to nearly 60.8 million.