Ashir Rao
Public Relations Manager

On May 14, the first round of Turkey’s general election was declared inconclusive, prompting a runoff between the top two candidates on May 28. Right wing incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan faced off against his most serious challenger in recent memory, the social democratic Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Right wing nationalist Sinan Ogan also contested the elections. The election comes after several developments in Turkey characterized by analysts as “democratic backsliding,” or the weakening of democracy in the country, as well as after accusations against Erdogan’s regime of alleged mismanagement of earthquake relief earlier this year. The election will be heading to a runoff between the top two candidates, Erdogan and Kılıçdaroğlu. Erdogan currently holds the lead with 49.5% of votes in the first round, compared to Kılıçdaroğlu’s 44.98%.