{"id":145167,"date":"2018-06-23T01:15:14","date_gmt":"2018-06-23T01:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/turkeys-elections-explained-in-100-and-500-words\/"},"modified":"2018-06-23T01:15:14","modified_gmt":"2018-06-23T01:15:14","slug":"turkeys-elections-explained-in-100-and-500-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/turkeys-elections-explained-in-100-and-500-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey&#8217;s elections explained in 100 and 500 words"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure>                                  <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses an AKP campaign rally in Kahramanmaras, 21 June 2018\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/11FCB\/production\/_102157637_erdgettyrally21jun18.jpg\"\/>Image copyright                  Getty Images<figcaption>Image caption                                      President Erdogan called snap elections to boost his power - but victory is far from certain                              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"caps\">On Sunday, Turkey will choose its president and parliament, in a vote that will decide the political future of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.<\/p>\n<p>He called snap elections, brought forward from late 2019, and is hoping to cement his position with beefed-up powers.<\/p>\n<p>He has won every vote in his 15 years in power, but Turkey is in the midst of an economic slump and he faces a strong opposition campaign.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The long read: Erdogan&#039;s Turkey<\/li>\n<li>Country profile <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here is a rundown of what you need to know - in brief and at greater length.<\/p>\n<p>Read either or both to understand what Sunday&#039;s vote could mean.<\/p>\n<p>Turkey&#039;s Recep Tayyip Erdogan is running for a second presidential term, but this time is different.<\/p>\n<p>After the vote, a wide range of new powers approved in a 2017 referendum will come into force, transforming what was once a ceremonial role into an executive position of considerable power.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Erdogan is favourite to win - but he is aiming to retain the presidency on Sunday with more than 50% of the vote. <\/p>\n<p>Otherwise he will be forced into a second round, which could lessen his victory and mandate, or even end in defeat.<\/p>\n<p>Parliamentary elections also take place on Sunday, which could result in a power shift - and a new parliament that could support or oppose the newly empowered president.<\/p>\n<p>Recep Tayyip Erdogan, backed by his Islamist-rooted AK Party (AKP), has reshaped Turkey more than any other person since the founding of the modern state.<\/p>\n<p>But he is a controversial figure, having moved to consolidate his power after a failed coup against his rule in 2016. Turkey has been under a state of emergency ever since, with 107,000 public servants and soldiers dismissed from their jobs. More than 50,000 people have been imprisoned pending trial since July 2016.<\/p>\n<figure>             <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/720x405\/p069dt8c.jpg\"\/>Media playback is unsupported on your device<figcaption>Media captionDoes it matter who&#039;s in charge of Turkey?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After completing two terms as prime minister, Mr Erdogan won the first-ever election to the presidency in 2014, for what was supposed to be a largely ceremonial role.<\/p>\n<p>Then, in April 2017, 51% of Turkish voters endorsed a new constitution that grants new powers to the presidency. <\/p>\n<p>These include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Directly appointing top public officials, including ministers and vice-presidents<\/li>\n<li>The power to intervene in the country&#039;s legal system<\/li>\n<li>The power to impose a state of emergency<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In addition to those changes, the job of prime minister will be scrapped.<\/p>\n<p>Some critics feel the new president will wield too much power, and that Turkey lacks the checks and balances of other executive presidencies such as France or the United States.<\/p>\n<p>There are six candidates for the presidency. If one of them wins just over 50% of the vote on Sunday, they win the presidency. But if no-one does, there will be a second round on 8 July.<\/p>\n<figure>                                                                                                       Image copyright                  AFP                                                    <\/figure>\n<p>Mr Erdogan is hoping to win outright, but may be facing his greatest challenge in years.<\/p>\n<p>The economy is a major issue in the campaign. Inflation has risen to more than 10%, and a steep fall in the value of the lira has hit many people in their pockets.<\/p>\n<p>Religion is also a factor. Modern Turkey is a secular republic, but under Mr Erdogan&#039;s AKP party it has accepted Islamic symbols in public life to some extent - for example, in allowing female state employees to wear headscarves.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Erdogan&#039;s main rival, Muharrem Ince of the Republican People&#039;s Party (CHP), is staunchly secular and a fierce critic of Mr Erdogan. Mr Ince has performed well in the campaign, and could be a real threat in any run-off.<\/p>\n<p>And Sunday&#039;s parliamentary election, running side-by-side with the presidential poll, could have a major impact on round two.<\/p>\n<p>If Mr Erdogan&#039;s AKP group keeps its majority in the 600-seat assembly, he will head into a run-off vote in a strong position. If not, it could damage his image and change the outcome.<\/p>\n<figure>                                                                                                       Image copyright                  EPA<figcaption>Image caption                                      A vast crowd attended a rally for opposition candidate Ince in Izmir on Thursday                              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Much hinges upon whether the pro-Kurdish Peoples&#039; Democratic Party (HDP), which is firmly against Mr Erdogan, wins 10% of the national vote.<\/p>\n<p>If the HDP falls short of 10%, it will not get any seats under Turkey&#039;s list-based allocation system. But if it achieves 10% or more, it will remain in parliament and make it harder for Mr Erdogan&#039;s AKP to gain a majority.<\/p>\n<p>No matter what happens, the result will be important for Turkey&#039;s future.<\/p>\n<p>If Mr Erdogan wins the presidency and his party keeps its majority, he will have successfully consolidated his political power. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Turks abroad play decisive role in Erdogan vote<\/li>\n<li>Reality Check: The numbers behind the crackdown in Turkey<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If both elections go against him, Turkey&#039;s political landscape will be dramatically changed.<\/p>\n<p>But if the presidency goes one way and the parliament another, it could signal a period of political instability for Turkey in the years ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Turkish voters living abroad - about three million of the 59 million voters in total - have already cast their votes.<\/p>\n<p>The remainder will make their choice on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image copyright Getty ImagesImage caption President Erdogan called snap elections to boost his power - but victory is far from certain On Sunday, Turkey will choose its president and parliament,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}