|[[Women's Party (Turkey)|Women's Party]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kadın Partisi'nden Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu'na destek |url=https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/siyaset/kadin-partisinden-kemal-kilicdarogluna-destek-2066197 |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=www.cumhuriyet.com.tr |language=tr}}</ref>
|[[Women's Party (Turkey)|Women's Party]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kadın Partisi'nden Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu'na destek |url=https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/siyaset/kadin-partisinden-kemal-kilicdarogluna-destek-2066197 |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=www.cumhuriyet.com.tr |language=tr}}</ref>
The regular scheduled date for the first round of the elections was set for 18 June 2023. However, the electoral system allowed for moving the date forward.
In 2020, there were speculations about a snap election prior to the regular one in 2023.[6] At the time, Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of coalition partner MHP, ruled them out.[6] In a written statement, he said that elections would not be held before 2023. He also confirmed that the current coalition between AKP and MHP will remain intact and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be their joint nominee for President.[6]
Discussion on snap elections
In early January 2023 the AKP mentioned eventual snap elections to take place on either the 16 or 30 April or the 14 May.[7] But the so called "Table of Six" composed by six opposition parties announced that they would not agree to snap elections after the 6 April.[7] On 18 January 2023, Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, signalled that the elections will be held earlier than the scheduled date, specifically on 14 May 2023, in a symbolic reference to the election victory of former Prime Minister Adnan Menderes on 14 May in the 1950 Turkish general election, beating the candidate of the (then governing) party CHP.[8] On 22 January 2023, Erdoğan stated that the elections will be held on 14 May. In view of that date, the Table of Six announced that Erdogan can not run for president without the consent of the parliament.[9]
Discussion on postponing election date
After an earthquake struck the country in February 2023, Erdogan announced a state of emergency for 10 affected provinces, which would end a week ahead of the election date of the 14 May.[10] The opposition voted against the imposition in parliament.[11] Then on 13 February 2023, Bülent Arınç, a former AKP Member of Parliament, alleged the elections could not be held in the current situation in either May or June, and the elections should be postponed.[11] AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik responded that Arınç's statement is his own personal view and does not bind the party.[12]Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu from the opposition party Republican People's Party (CHP) responded to Arınç's statement that the constitution would not provide a possibility to postpone the elections except in the case of war.[11] Further Mustafa Tolga Öztürk from the Good Party reasoned only the parliament has the authority to postpone elections and Selahattin Demirtaş from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) suspected such a measure would result in a political coup.[11]
Electoral system
The President of Turkey is directly elected through the two-round system, under which a candidate must obtain a simple majority (more than 50%) of the popular vote in order to be elected. If no candidate secures an overall majority outright, then a runoff is held between the two most voted-for candidates from the first round, the winner of which is then declared elected. The first direct election to the Turkish presidency was held in 2014, after a referendum in 2007 abolished the previous system under which the head of state was elected by the legislature, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The President of Turkey is subject to term limits, and may serve at most two times five-year terms.[13] If snap elections were held before the end of the second term, a third term would be permitted.[14][15] Snap elections can be held either with the consent of 60% of the MPs in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey or ordered by presidential decree. Only snap elections via the consent of the Grand National Assembly during a president's second term can allow the president a third term[16]
Prospective presidential candidates must be at least 40 years old and must have completed higher education. Any political party that has won 5% of the vote in the previous parliamentary election can put forward a candidate, although parties that have not met this threshold can form alliances and field joint candidates as long as their total vote share exceeds 5%. Independents can run if they collect 100,000 signatures from the electorate.[17]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2023)
The Constitution of Turkey, amended following the 2017 constitutional referendum, allows any party with a parliamentary group (at least 20 MPs) to nominate a presidential candidate. The remaining candidates were required to collect at least 100,000 signatures.
Voters were able to give signatures to their preferred presidential candidate between 23 March and 27 March at their local electoral council branch.
On 24 March, the New Welfare Party decided to join the People's Alliance. After this decision, Fatih Erbakan announced that he had ended the candidacy process in favor of Erdoğan.[26]
Before the 2018 elections, Turkish presidents were serving as heads of state within a parliamentary system. After the 2017 constitutional referendum, Turkey adopted a presidential system in which the president serves as the head of government. Some opposition politicians state that since Erdoğan was elected president twice in 2014 and 2018, he cannot be a candidate again unless an early election is called by the Parliament, as stated in Article 116 of the constitution.[9] Some jurists argue that since the presidential system was introduced in 2018 and a new office was formed apart from the similarity in name, the 2018 election was Erdoğan's first term in the new system and that he has the right to be a candidate again.[52][53]
Assassination threats
On March 10, CHP parliamentary group deputy chair Özgür Özel claimed that Kılıçdaroğlu received assassination threats by a unknown groups and was offered a minister's armored vehicle by the government but he rejected the proposal and kept his official car.[54]
![[icon]](https://akarinohon.com/text/taketori.cgi/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
Y Nominated
N Not nominated
Turkey
