Quicktake

Why Turkey’s Erdogan Faces His First-Ever Runoff Vote

WATCH: Turkey’s national elections take place on May 14, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan facing the political fight of his career.Source: Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Sign up for our Middle East newsletter and follow us @middleeast for news on the region.

Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who wields almost unbridled power, is seeking another term in presidential elections. After leading the country for two decades, Erdogan has come under fire for his government’s handling of a cost-of-living crisis and catastrophic twin earthquakes. He failed to win an outright majority in a first round of voting, setting up a run-off on May 28 against rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who has the backing of the nation’s broadest-ever grouping of opposition parties.