Presidential elections are scheduled to take place in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

on 18 June 2023 as part of the 2023 general elections, alongside

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ...

. Voters will elect a new

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

for a term of five years.

Background

Elections of 2018

The previous Turkish general election took place on 24 June 2018. The election marked the country's transition from a

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, norms, power or language of an organized society over a social system ( family, t ...

to a presidential one, as narrowly endorsed by voters in the controversial 2017 constitutional referendum. That election resulted in a victory for incumbent president

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 t ...

, who had held the position since 2014. Meanwhile, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its absolute majority in the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

for the first time since June 2015, forcing it to rely on its coalition partner, the

Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party (alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party; tr, Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) is a Turkish far-right and ultranationalist political party. The group is often described as neo-fascist, and has bee ...

(MHP) of

Devlet Bahçeli Devlet Bahçeli (born 1 January 1948) is a Turkish politician, economist, former deputy prime minister, and current chairman of the far-right, ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). An academic in economics from Gazi University, Bah ...

, to pass legislation. Although there were speculations about a snap election prior to the regular one in 2023, Bahçeli ruled them out. 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 Erdogan will be their joint nominee for President.

Electoral system

The

President of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national governm ...

is directly elected through the

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian res ...

, 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

. The President of Turkey is subject to term limits, and may serve at most two consecutive five-year terms. 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.

Candidates

Declared

, incumbent

(2014-present)

Publicly expressed interest

Cem Uzan Cem Uzan (born 26 December 1960, İstanbul) is a Turkish businessman and politician involved in the media and banking industries, while also chairing the social liberal Young Party (GP). His family's media empire (Uzan Group) at one time includ ...

, former leader of the

Young Party The Young Party ( tr, Genç Parti, GP) is a populist political party in Turkey. The GENÇPARTİ does not have a chairperson officially. History 2002 elections Cem Uzan entered politics 90 days before the 2002 elections. Young Party was not ...

(GP) *

Muharrem İnce Muharrem İnce (born 4 May 1964) is a Turkish physics teacher, school principal, sport executive, and politician. He founded and is leader of the Homeland Party since May 2021. Formerly a four term Republican People's Party (Turkish: Cumhuriyet ...

, leader of the Homeland Party, candidate for president in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Potential

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (born Kemal Karabulut, 17 December 1948) is a Turkish economist, retired civil servant and social democratic politician. He is leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and has been Leader of the Main Opposition in T ...

, leader of Republican People's Party, leader of the opposition *

Ahmet Davutoğlu Ahmet Davutoğlu (; born 26 February 1959) is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) from 2014 to 2016. He previously served as Mi ...

, leader of the Future Party, 26th

Prime Minister of Turkey The prime minister of the Republic of Turkey (Turkish: ''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanı'') was the head of government of the Republic of Turkey from 1920 to 2018, who led a political coalition in the Turkish Parliament and presided over the cab ...

(2014-2015), 42st

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...

(2009-2014) *

Ali Babacan Ali Babacan (; born 4 April 1967) is a Turkish politician, economist, and engineer. He is the founder and current leader of the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA). He served 13 years as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Economy, Chi ...

, leader of the

Democracy and Progress Party The Democracy and Progress Party ( tr, Demokrasi ve Atılım Partisi, DEVA, lit. Democracy and Enterprise Party) is a Turkish political party founded on 9 March 2020 under the leadership of Ali Babacan, a former economy minister under the AK ...

Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey The Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey is the abolished official deputy of the head of government of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental ...

(2009-2015), 41st

(2007-2009),

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

(2002-2007) *

Gültekin Uysal Gultekin Uysal (born 1976 in İscehisar, Afyonkarahisar Province, Turkey) is a Turkish politician and businessman who has been the chairman of the Democratic Party (DP), since May 2012. In 2018 election he was elected on the İYİ Party list bu ...

, leader of the Democrat Party *

Temel Karamollaoğlu Temel Karamollaoğlu (born 20 September 1941) is a Turkish engineer and politician who is currently the leader of the Felicity Party (SP) since 2016. A prominent Islamist, Karamollaoğlu was the Mayor of Sivas from 1989 to 1995 and served twice a ...

, leader of the

Felicity Party The Felicity Party ( tr, Saadet Partisi, SP) is an Islamist Turkish political party. It was founded in 2001, and mainly supported by conservative Muslims in Turkey. It was founded on 20 July 2001 after the Virtue Party (FP) was banned by the Co ...

, Mayor of Sivas (1989–1995), candidate for president in

Pervin Buldan Pervin Buldan (born 6 November 1967) is a Turkish politician. She was a member of the Democratic Society Party (DTP). She is President of Yakay-Der and one of the deputy speakers in the 26th Parliament of Turkey. On 11 February 2018, she was e ...

, co-leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party, Deputy Speaker of Parliament (2015-2018) *

Fatih Erbakan Muhammed Ali Fatih Erbakan (born January 1, 1979, Ankara) is a Turkish engineer and politician who is the founder and leader of the New Welfare Party (YRP). A son of Necmettin Erbakan, the former Prime Minister of Turkey who led the YRP's pre ...

, leader of

New Welfare Party The New Welfare Party ( tr, Yeniden Refah Partisi, YRP) is an Islamist political party in Turkey. It is the successor of the Welfare Party, which was banned in 1998. They adopt the National Outlook (Turkish: ''"Millî Görüş"'') ideology. ...

Abdullah Gül Abdullah Gül (; ; born 29 October 1950) is a Turkish politician who served as the 11th President of Turkey, in office from 2007 to 2014. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and concurrently served as both ...

, 11th

(2007-2014), 24th

(2002–2003), 40th

(2003-2007) *

Süleyman Soylu Süleyman Soylu (; born 21 November 1969) is a Turkish politician. He is a deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party who currently serves as the Minister of the Interior since 31 August 2016. He previously served as the Minister of L ...

Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

(2016-present), Minister of Labour and Social Security (2015-2016) *

Doğu Perinçek Doğu Perinçek (; born 17 June 1942) is a Turkish politician, doctor of law and former communist revolutionary who has been chairman of the left-wing nationalist Patriotic Party ( tr, Vatan Partisi, VP) since 2015. He was also a member of the T ...

, leader of

Patriotic Party , colorcode = #E4433E , leader1_title = Leaders , leader1_name = Ignacy Potocki Adam Kazimierz CzartoryskiStanisław Małachowski , foundation = , dissolution = , headquarters = Kraków , ideology = Pro-ReformConstitutio ...

, candidate for president in

Tansu Çiller Tansu Çiller (; born 24 May 1946) is a Turkish academic, economist and politician who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Turkey from 1993 to 1996. She is Turkey's first and only female prime minister to date. As the leader of the True Path ...

, 22nd

(1993–1996), 36th

(1996-1997),

(1991-1993) *

Mustafa Sarıgül Mustafa Sarıgül (born 15 November 1956) is a Turkish writer, entrepreneur and politician. He is currently the leader of Party for Change in Turkey. He was the mayor of the Şişli district in Istanbul between 1999 and 2014. He is recently embro ...

, leader of Party for Change in Turkey, Mayor of Şişli (1999-2014)

Declined to be candidates

, leader of

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

(1999-2002) *

Ekrem İmamoğlu Ekrem İmamoğlu (; born 4 June 1970) is a Turkish businessman, real estate developer, and politician serving as the 32nd Mayor of Istanbul. He was first elected with 4.1 million votes and won with a margin of 13,000 votes against his AKP opponen ...

Mayor of Istanbul This is a list of mayors of Istanbul, Turkey. This covers the Ottoman Empire to the modern day; the name of the city in English is Constantinople during the Ottoman period and in the Republican era until 1930. Ottoman Empire During 1453–18 ...

(2019-present), Mayor of Beylikdüzü district (2014-2019) *

Mansur Yavaş Mansur Yavaş (; born 23 May 1955) is a Turkish lawyer and politician who is currently the Mayor of Ankara, holding the office since April 2019. He was elected in the 2019 local election as the candidate of the Nation Alliance, an opposition al ...

, 29th

Mayor of Ankara This is a list of mayors of Ankara, Turkey in the Republican era. Governors as mayors (1924–1960) * 1 Mehmet Ali Bey (1924–1924) * 2 Ali Haydar Bey (1924–1926) * 3 Asaf Bey (1926–1928) * 4 Nevzat Tandoğan (1929–1946) * 5 O. Sabri Ad ...

(2019-present), Mayor of Beypazarı district (1999-2009) *

Meral Akşener Meral Akşener (née Gürer, ; born 18 July 1956) is a Turkish politician, teacher, historian and academic. She served as Minister of the Interior and was a vice-speaker of the Grand National Assembly. She also founded and is leader of the Good ...

, leader of the

Good Party The Good Party (Turkish: ''İyi Parti'') is a nationalist, national conservative, Kemalist, and liberal democrat political party in Turkey, established on 25 October 2017 by its current leader Meral Akşener. Their fraternal party is the lib ...

(1996-1997), candidate for president in

Candidates and parties

Presidential candidates

Contesting parties

Opinion polls

Alliances

References

{{Portal bar, Politics, Turkey Presidential elections in Turkey

Background

Elections of 2018

Electoral system

Candidates

Declared

Publicly expressed interest

Potential

Declined to be candidates

Candidates and parties

Presidential candidates

Contesting parties

Opinion polls

Alliances

See also

References