Although the checks and balances mechanisms in modern liberal democracies have increasingly diversified, the most effective means for accountability and controlling leaders is still the ballot box. Of course, free, fair and competitive elections are not the only condition for a regime’s pluralistic and libertarian rule, but it is a prerequisite.

The 2023 presidential election in Türkiye, which will pit the presidential candidates of two major alliances against each other, created a state of great intellectual and ideological mobilization. With the distinction between “us” and “them” forming the backbone of politics, polarization becomes inevitable. Indeed, polarization becomes more intense and widespread due to the presidential system giving rise to alliances and the Nation Alliance uniting around "anti-Erdoğanism" after two decades.

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.

On Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a decree for Türkiye to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14, 2023. The country thus started counting down to the most consequential elections in its recent past – and this year’s most important election worldwide.

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

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pledged to “rebuild all homes within one year,” the opposition responded by launching a public campaign against the election’s postponement.

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

The 'table for six' cannot seem to stop being a coalition of unrelated parties no matter how many times they meet or how many documents they unveil

The joint statement of the 'table for six' suggests that an extremely aggressive campaign is in the making

The level of ambiguity seems to increase as that debate continues, mainly because the Turkish opposition bloc, known as the 'table for six,' is in a challenging and contradictory pursuit

GP Chair Davutoğlu and DEVA Chair Babacan, the 'engineers' of the 'table for six' who face harsh criticism, work very hard to ensure the success of a political initiative that would lead to main opposition CHP’s domination

The pro-PKK HDP strengthened its hand vis-à-vis the 'table for six' by opting to field its own presidential 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?

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'

Issues show that the Good Party remains most vulnerable to internal and external maneuvering by the two alliances. Indeed, that movement is at the heart of identity politics and ideological faultlines, too. Until now, Akşener has not surfed successfully on those faultlines – which will become shakier as the election draws near.