With Türkiye’s transition to a presidential system in April 2017, after a historic referendum that saw 51.4% of the votes cast in favor of the new system, political parties in Türkiye immediately began to adapt to the new system. The presidential system, which requires candidates to win an absolute majority of first-round votes, forged pre-election alliances. It became clear to all opposition parties, led by the Republican People’s Party (CHP), that on their own they could not defeat Erdoğan or the AK Party (Justice and Development Party) under Erdoğan’s leadership?

This article analyzes the approaches of the two major electoral alliances set to compete in the upcoming elections, instead of focusing on each political party’s proposed system of government separately.

Everyone seems to agree that Türkiye will make a “critically important choice at a historic crossroads” on May 14. That makes us expect an election campaign where each candidate and their parties will speak their truths. Do not be fooled by the ongoing calmness, as electoral alliances have been trying to expand and negotiate candidate lists in the month of Ramadan.

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

The million-dollar question in Turkish politics is whether the opposition bloc – known as the 'table for six'– should stay together or disband.

Two unfortunate statements from the opposition cast a dark shadow on its idea of the 'new Türkiye'

'The opposition has a democratic right to criticize the Turkish government’s refugee policy. That right, however, should be exercised without poisoning the country’s democratic culture'

It has become increasingly clear what the opposition’s 'table for six' will look like as the 2023 election approaches. In recent weeks, the Felicity Party (SP) had proposed an 'alliance within the alliance' and the Republican People’s Party (CHP) has presented eight different scenarios.

The new plan proposed by the People's Alliance seeks to blend 'justice in representation' and 'stability of the government

The Turkish government's new diplomatic initiative with its regional and global partners is based on logic, while the opposition still has no idea why it rejects the process

The oligarchical plan proposed by the 6 +1 opposition parties can never be embraced by the Turkish electorate

Zülfü Livaneli, a leftist intellectual, recently revealed the dilemmas of the Turkish 'left' and claimed that the CHP is not actually a leftist party. It is a mystery why the debate over the former leader of the main opposition did not come to the current party chairperson

Nowadays, all eyes are fixed on the relations between Turkey and the United States. Against the backdrop of tensions, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) celebrated its 17th birthday at an event hosted by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) on Tuesday.

Opposition presidential candidates İnce and Akşener only have vague commitments on how to restore the parliamentary system

urkey is counting down the days until the June 24 elections, which everyone seems to agree will be a turning point in the country's political history.

With the oppositional bloc relying mostly on emotions and ideology rather than politics and visionary alliances, they have now found themselves leading toward the elections without a strategy