  Turkish elections 2023

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has begun his third term as President of Turkey after winning the run-off vote on 28 May with 52.2 percent against opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (47.8 percent). After the inauguration ceremony in parliament he presented his new cabinet. Europe's press examines the ramifications of this outcome - in particular for Nato.

After neither candidate won an absolute majority in the first round of the Turkish presidential elections, a run-off vote will be held on 28 May. In the first round incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (49.5 percent) beat opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (44.9 percent). The ultra-nationalist Sinan Oğan garnered 5.2 percent of the vote and has now pledged to support Erdoğan in the second round. Europe's press sees the chances of a change of government disappearing.

Just days before the presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey on Sunday it still looks like a tight race between long-time incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Commentators examine the implications of an election victory for the opposition alliance over Erdoğan and his AK Party for Europe.

Candidates are neck and neck in the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey on 14 May: CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his opposition alliance have realistic chances of beating long-time President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his AK Party. Commentators follow the race with bated breath.

This is no ordinary election: Turkey will vote in a new parliament and a new president on 14 May. CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is curently neck and neck with incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the polls. Europe's press is in a state of suspense over whether the opposition alliance will succeed in bringing the long rule of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his AK Party to an end.

A photo showing Turkish opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu standing on what was apparently a prayer rug with his shoes on went viral on the weekend. Muslims remove their shoes when they enter a mosque or use a prayer rug. Propaganda media close to Erdoğan are now hyping the incident. A major faux pas or much ado about nothing?

The pro-Kurdish HDP will not field its own candidate in the Turkish presidential elections on 14 May. Without it being explicitly stated as such, this is seen as a move in support of the opposition Nation Alliance and its candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The national press is divided in its reaction.

The opposition Nation Alliance led by CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has a clear lead against Erdoğan's AKP electoral alliance in the polls for the presidential election slated for 14 May. The AKP is now negotiating with the Hezbollah-affiliated Hüdapar and the Islamist Yeniden Refah Partisi in a bid to expand its electoral alliance, while Kılıçdaroğlu is wooing conservative voters. Commentators find both strategies questionable.

The Turkish opposition alliance made up of six parties has agreed on CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as its joint presidential candidate after almost splitting up over the issue on the weekend. Commentators assess the candidate's prospects.

Just ten weeks before Turkey's presidential election, the Turkish opposition alliance split up on Friday due to disagreement over who should be its joint candidate. Five parties had previously agreed on CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, but İyi Party leader Meral Akşener has rejected his candidacy and is instead backing the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara, also members of the CHP. Commentators are appalled for different reasons.

The six-party alliance that will run against Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the presidential election in May has presented its election programme. Its main goal is to change the current presidential system back to a parliamentary one. Among other things, the president is to hold office for a maximum of seven years, have fewer veto rights in parliament and no longer be allowed to issue decrees. A mixed response in the press.

Turkey's President Erdoğan has announced that the country's presidential and parliamentary elections, originally planned for June, will be brought forward to 14 May. Erdoğan ruled the country as prime minister from 2003 to 2014 and afterwards became the most powerful man in the state as its president. Whether his running for office again is in conformity with the constitution is a matter of debate. According to polls, a six-party opposition alliance also has a chance of winning the elections.

Turkey is due to hold parliamentary and presidential elections in June at the very latest. President Erdoğan is being challenged by a six-party alliance that wants to curtail the president's power. However, the alliance partners have yet to name their joint candidate. Now the HDP is considering putting up its own candidate and distributing powers among several people in the event of an election victory.

The six-party opposition alliance led by the Kemalist CHP presented its draft for a new Turkish constitution on Monday. The key aim of the proposed reform is a return to parliamentarianism and the renunciation of the presidential system which has been in force since 2018 and concentrates power in the hands of the incumbent president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Opposition media take stock.