Türkiye goes to the polls in just over a month for what could be the most significant election in a generation. After two decades in power, support for the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is lagging behind that of a united opposition determined to oust him from office.
As the Turkish Republic enters its centenary year, CGTN's Louise Greenwood looks at the main figures in the forthcoming election and what is at stake.
Türkiye prepares for the polls after February's devastating earthquakes and an economic crisis.
How do Türkiye's elections work?
Presidential and parliamentary elections are due to take place on May 14. Sixty million Turkish nationals, including those overseas, are eligible to vote. Polls for a new President and 600 members of the Turkish parliament will be held under proportional representation rules.
The Presidential election is held under a "run-off" system, whereby voting will go to a second round if no single candidate receives over fifty per cent backing in the first poll. The number of MPs elected depends on population numbers in each of Türkiye's 87 electoral districts.
President Erdogan, who came to power in 2002, is seeking another five years in office. /AP/Armin Durgut
Who are the main Presidential candidates and what are their policies?
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Türkiye's incumbent leader is seeking an unprecedented third decade in power, under rules introduced through a new executive presidential system in 2017. Under his stewardship, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is promising an export based economic expansion, further infrastructure development and a robust foreign policy, not least in light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, where Türkiye has sought to carve out a mediator role for itself between Kyiv and Moscow.
But the vote will take place against the backdrop of February's devastating earthquakes which have left 48,000 dead and over 1.5 million homeless, and an economic crisis that has seen inflation peak at 85 percent. In both instances, the AKP stands accused of neglect and mismanagement by its opponents.
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President Erdogan has pledged to rebuild the entire disaster zone by next year and elsewhere has launched a series of voter friendly policies including a boost to the minimum wage, a lower pension age entitlement for millions and cuts to energy bills.
Veteran Republican leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is leading the united National Alliance opposition. Source: AP/Burhan Ozbilici
Kemal Kilicdaroglu
Fearing a sixth consecutive general election loss to the AKP, Türkiye's six biggest opposition parties agreed in January to come together to fight the election on a single platform, named the "National Alliance." Last month, the veteran leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu was confirmed as the group's presidential candidate to run against Erdoğan.
The so-called "Table of Six" has vowed to reverse most of the far reaching constitutional changes enacted under AKP rule. These include restoring the country's parliamentary system of governance, returning independence to the central bank and the judiciary, and improving relations with NATO and the EU.
The alliance is hoping to repeat the success of local elections in 2019 when the AKP lost control of Türkiye's three biggest cities; Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir to the CHP, after the third largest party, the pro-Kurdish HDP, withdrew its own candidates from the race.
Despite his Republican credentials, Kilicdaroglu claims "Our table is (one) of peace .. our goal is to return the country to days of prosperity, peace and joy."
But critics point to the conflicting ideologies within the bloc which contains a mix of Islamists and right wing nationalists, which Erdogan has described as "really worrying".
2018 Republican presidential candidate Muharrem Ince has vowed to run again. Source AP/ Burhan Ozbilici
Muharrem Ince
In a possible "disrupter" role, the former CHP parliamentarian who ran against Erdogan in the 2018 presidential election has confirmed he plans to stand again. Muharrem Ince quit the Republicans after the contest five years ago, when he won just under a third of the popular vote.
Running for his newly founded Homeland Party, Ince has pointed to rifts in the National Alliance. He rejects claims that his candidacy will bolster Erdogan's chances. Kilicdaroglu has acknowledged he's held talks with his former colleague in a bid to persuade Ince to drop his campaign ahead of May 14.
Jailed former Chair of the pro-Kurdish HDP Selahattin Demirtas has warned of "chaos" ahead of the election. Source: AP/ Burhan Ozbilici
Türkiye's Kurdish Vote
As in the 2019 elections Türkiye's third largest political group, the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP), looks set to play the kingmaker's role in the May vote.
Excluded from the National Alliance, the leftist HDP has been facing attempts by the constitutional court to close it down completely ahead of polling over its alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). HDP has the support of around a tenth of the electorate.
As it did four years ago, the party has opted not to field its own presidential candidate in May, saying "our responsibility is to end one man rule (in Türkiye)." In so doing, it's given a tacit endorsement to the Table of Six, boosting the main opposition's chances. HDP plans to field its own parliamentary candidates through a deal with the minority "Green Left" party, to bypass the proposed state ban.
From his prison cell in Edirne, where he has served over six years on terrorism charges, HDP's former chair Selahattin Demirtas has predicted that Erdogan is facing a "historical electoral defeat" in May, while warning of possible attempts by the AKP to create "chaos and a vacuum" ahead of voting.