At Stake in this Election: 

• The Presidency of Turkey 

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: President Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN (since 28 August 2014) 

• Head of Government: President Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN (since 9 July 2019) 

• The President became head of government when the prime minister position was eliminated in 2018 after a constitutional referendum. 

• Assembly: unicameral Grand National Assembly (Büyük Millet Meclisi) with 600 seats 

Electoral System:  

• The President is directly elected by absolute majority vote in up to two rounds. The President may serve up to two 5-year terms. 

• All 600 members of the Grand National Assembly are directly elected via party-list proportional representation vote in multi-seat constituencies. Members serve 5-year terms. 

Last Election: 

In 2018, incumbent Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN (AKP) won the presidency in a single round with 52.6% of the vote. The remaining vote was largely split between Muharrem İNCE (CHP, 8.4%), Selahhatin DEMIRTAŞ (HDP, 8.4%), and Meral AKŞENER (Good Party, 7.3%). Voter turnout was 82%.  

New/Unique in this Election:  

Though Erdoğan has already served two terms, the Supreme Election Council (YSK) ruled that his second, current term should be counted as his first due to constitutional reforms that introduced a new dual presidential and parliamentary electoral schedule. This ruling has allowed Erdoğan to run again in 2023. 

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline: 20 March 2023 

• Voter registration deadline: 2 April 2023 

• Turkey uses a passive, residence-based voter registration process that occurs continuously. From 20 March to 2 April, voters were allowed to review voter rolls and request changes to their registration status.  

Main Candidates in this Election: 

• Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN 

• Incumbent 

• Party: The People’s Alliance / Cumhur İttifakı (CUMHUR) 

• Coalition made up of Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) 

• Kemal KILIÇDAROĞLU 

• Party: National Alliance / Millet İttifakı (MİLLET) 

• Coalition formed by Kiliçdaroğlu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Good Party (İYİ), and several other opposition parties 

• Muharrem İNCE 

• Party: Homeland Party / Memleket Partisi  

• Sinan OĞAN 

• Party: Ancestral Alliance / Ata İttifakı (ATA) 

• Coalition of rightwing parties 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 85,816,199 (2023 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 64,913,141 (2023) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 42,694,626 (2023 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Ratified (by accession) 20 December 1985  

• Gender Quota: No  

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 101 out of 580 (17.4%) in the Grand National Assembly 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.838, Very High, Rank 48 (2021) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 24.7 (2023) 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 28 September 2009 

• Projected population with a disability: 6,007,134 (2023 est.) 

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Turkey: No  

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes; 5 judgments and 32 resources