Turkey is about to have its most consequential election in recent history. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been practically at the helm of the country since 2001. But 2023 could very well be the year Erdoğan loses.
Due to an ever-deteriorating economy, double-digit inflation and increasingly more volatile economy, Erdoğan is the weakest he has ever been. Having never lost an election during his political career, Erdoğan is currently bested by every single potential oppositional candidate in poll aggregates. However, that is only the Presidential race and the parliamentary races aren’t looking too bright for the president either. The polls show that the opposition coalition has secured at least 5 points over Erdoğan and Bahçeli’s ruling AKP-MHP coalition.
The opposition coalition is a rag-tag band of six very different parties that under any-other circumstance would probably be very averse to working with one another, let alone form a bloc. But it appears that the opposition is perfectly aware of the pivotal nature of this particular race and has, at least for the moment, managed to put aside their differences. But who are the opposition? And who will be Erdoğan running against? We can only answer one of those questions….so far.
