General elections were held in Turkey on 14 May 2023, combining presidential elections and parliamentary elections to elect 600 members of the Grand National Assembly.
Election monitors criticized the conduct of the elections, observing restrictions on fundamental freedoms of assembly, association and expression. There was political interference in the electoral process, threats of throttling social media platforms, arrests of people posting criticisms on social media, and fines against media organizations that criticized the government. The state-run media heavily favored the AK Party, led by incumbent president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Popular political opponents were jailed or intimidated during the election campaign. A 2023 study in PLOS One found that the election was "riddled with statistical irregularities, that may be indicative of electoral fraud."
Background
The previous Turkish general election took place in 2018. The election marked the country's transition from a parliamentary system to a presidential one, as narrowly endorsed by voters in the 2017 constitutional referendum. That election resulted in a victory for incumbent president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who had held the position since 2014.
Meanwhile, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) lost its absolute majority in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for the first time since June 2015, forcing it to rely on its coalition partner, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) of Devlet Bahçeli, to pass legislation. The office of the Prime Minister of Turkey was abolished on 12 July 2018, and its last holder, Binali Yıldırım, took office as the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly.
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 AK Party and MHP will remain intact and Erdoğan will be their joint nominee for president. On 9 June 2022, Erdoğan declared his candidacy.
On 22 January 2023, Erdoğan announced he would initiate snap elections on 10 March which would bring the election date forward from 18 June to 14 May. Muharrem İnce announced he would withdraw his candidacy on 11 May.
Presidential election
Candidates
On 1 April, after a drawing conducted by the Supreme Electoral Council, the places of four presidential candidates on the ballot paper have been determined as follows:
Parliamentary election
Contesting parties
The table below shows the places of alliances, parties, and independent candidates in the order they will appear on the ballot paper: