Turkey’s elections have resulted in a run off between potential President for Life Recep Erdogan and Opposition Leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Erdogan has been touting his relationship with Russia’s President for life Vladimir Putin as a selling point (CNN).

Erdogan first became Prime Minister in 2003 after having been banned from holding office. The ban was lifted by a fellow party member. Erdogan took a strong stance against the Kurds and fails to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. European officials noted a return to more authoritarian ways after stalling of Turkey’s bid to join the European Union notably on freedom of speech, freedom of the press and Kurdish minority rights. Demands by activists for the recognition of LGBT rights were publicly rejected by government members.

In 2014 Erdogan became president after a A US$100 billion corruption scandal in 2013 led to the arrests of Erdogan’s close allies, and incriminated him.Erdoğan supported the constitutional referendum in 2017 which changed Turkey’s parliamentary system into a presidential system, giving him more power. Erdogan has also stalled the appointment of Judges.

“His party however lost the majority in the parliament and is currently in a coalition (People’s Alliance) with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Erdoğan has decreased the independence of the Central Bank and pursued a highly unorthodox monetary policy, significantly contributing to an economic crisis starting in 2018, which caused very high inflation rates as well as a large depreciation of the Turkish lira.” (wikipedia).

The opposition has leveled claims of election fraud at Erdogan’s party.

Related

• Turkey Election 2023: 5 instances how Erdogan tailored judiciary, gagged press, rigged polls – Firstpost
• What Happened In The Turkish National Election – Forbes
• Turkey election results 2023 by the numbers – alJazeera