Türkiye successfully held a historic election in line with democratic maturity. Governments around the world watched closely as 88.92% of eligible voters participated in the election and Turkish democracy proved its strength yet again. In the end, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan beat his opponent, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, by almost 5 percentage points. Meanwhile, the People’s Alliance claimed 322 parliamentary seats – the majority – with 49.5%.

Tens of millions of Turks went to the polls and cast their votes last Sunday to choose the next president and the 600-seat Parliament. Over 30 political parties and five multiparty political coalitions (the People’s Alliance, the Nation Alliance, the ATA Alliance, the Labor and Freedom Alliance, and the Union of Socialist Forces Alliance) competed in the elections. At first, there were four official candidates, namely, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Sinan Oğan and Muharrem Ince. However, after the withdrawal of Ince, only three of them competed for the Presidency.

With Türkiye entering the final week of the 2023 election campaign, rhetorical battles have notably escalated. It would be wrong to reduce that development to peak polarization because what observers have called this year’s most important election remains critically important for the country’s future.

With less than 20 days before the Turkish elections, the People’s Alliance and the Nation Alliance continue campaigning, believing they are set to win. At the same time, pollsters continue to release numbers supporting both sides’ claim of imminent victory, making the campaign more tense and ambitious.

Türkiye’s pro-opposition circles have launched an excessive public perception campaign for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) chairperson and presidential candidate. The conservative parties that are part of the “table for six,” the opposition bloc that nominated Kılıçdaroğlu, and pro-CHP media personalities and authors lead that effort. Specifically, they refer to the prominent opposition leader as a mujtahid and draw parallels between him and Mahatma Gandhi to support his claim of being calm, collected, compromising, democratic and inclusive. Their praise for Kılıçdaroğlu comes with accusations against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – whom they see as the complete opposite.

Retracting from her comments due to the CHP’s attacks and isolating herself within the opposition bloc, IP Chair Akşener is likely to face pressure from secularists over the HDP’s involvement

The opposition leaders charge President Erdoğan with instituting ‘one-man rule’ but their solution is unimaginable. Nowhere in the world has political power been shared by eight parties

The ongoing turmoil within the opposition bloc on picking a presidential candidate suggests that a possible victory by their candidate could trigger widespread political unrest in Türkiye

CHP Chair Kılıçdaroğlu will not be able to avoid being the target of the agenda, whether he is a candidate or not

The main opposition leader Kılıçdaroğlu wants to use 'the system' and 'the table’s endorsement' to his current profile as 'the most obvious candidate'

The tug of war between the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Good Party continues over the selection of a presidential candidate. My sense is that the latter faces a “lose-lose” situation.

Distribution of parliamentary seats could encourage various players to work closer together, and the opposition fielding multiple candidates would actually benefit the People’s Alliance

The organizers of the gatherings in Istanbul's Saraçhane tapped into President Erdoğan’s past experiences, including his 1998 ban from politics and subsequent struggle, to write 'the Imamoğlu story,' but the real question is: Can Imamoğlu write his own story?

A Turkish court sentenced Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu to two years and seven months in prison for insulting members of the Supreme Electoral Board. The ruling won’t be final unless the second instance court and the Supreme Court of Appeals uphold it. Since either court could disagree with the verdict, Imamoğlu’s prison sentence and ban from politics are not in effect.

CHP head Kılıçdaroğlu revealed the main opposition’s development plan. Ahead of that announcement, he raised expectations by claiming that he would 'unveil a vision to end the crisis forever'

Under the circumstances, the opposition bloc has no choice but to settle all three disputes successfully.

'There is no politician in the opposition that could counterbalance that great advantage which Erdoğan enjoys'