Image source, Getty Images

Turkish people have been facing some the highest inflation rates since 1998.

Inflation reached a 24-year-high of 85.5% in October 2022 and the official rate is still hovering just below 44%.

Transport, food and housing sectors have seen the biggest rise in prices.

A cut in interest rates in 2021 from 19% to 14% led to a fall in the value of the Turkish lira, which meant it cost more for the country to import goods from abroad.

High prices of basic food items and rent are among voters’ biggest concerns.

Usually, countries increase interest rates in an attempt to cool inflation, but President Erdogan has described interest rates as "the mother and father of all evil", and has used unorthodox policies to try to dampen prices, including by intervening in foreign exchange markets.

Hoping to stimulate the economy, he has announced record public spending.

Read more here about Turkey’s financial struggles.

Orla Guerin
Reporting from Ankara

Image source, Shutterstock

Outside an unassuming school in Ankara, under a bright sun, crowds gathered to see the leader of the opposition coalition, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

As he arrived, they began to shout and cheer, phones held up high in a bid to grab a quick photo of the man who is offering to restore democracy and freedom to Turkey.

One woman, dressed in red and white - the colours of CHP - told me why she was voting: “This is for our grandkids. I am 65 years old and have no future. They are the future. If the AK Party [of President Erdogan] win, we will be turned into an Islamic country, same as Afghanistan. We believe tomorrow will be a victory day for Turkey and I will make a big dance.”

A middle-aged man called Yuksel Gurna was voting with his wife, who wore a headscarf.

"There have been good investments in our country [under the AKP] - high-speed trains, hospitals, and motorways. Developments and exports are going well. In my view, it’s a close contest, but I think that President Erdogan will win with some margin."

Image source, .

Turkey is one of the few predominantly Muslim countries that is secular.

Once the centre of the Ottoman Empire, the modern secular republic was established in the 1920s by nationalist leader Kemal Ataturk.

Straddling the continents of Europe and Asia, Turkey's strategically important location has given it major influence in the region - and control over the entrance to the Black Sea.

Joining the European Union has been a longstanding ambition for this country of some 85 million people. Membership talks were launched in 2005, but have stalled over serious misgivings about Turkey's human rights record.

The country’s economy has been generally unstable over the last decade, with the Turkish lira losing 90% of its value against the US dollar, according to World Bank and Turkey’s Central Bank data.

Even though the country’s laws are those of a secular democratic state, society and politics have been largely influenced by President Erdogan’s conservative Islamist-rooted party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has been in government for the last 20 years.

• Read more here.

Image source, Reuters

While the economy and the earthquakes are dominating this election, voters have other concerns too; one of which is restrictions on the media which have been dramatically tightened under President Erdogan.

Just hours before polls opened, Twitter announced it had agreed to restrict access to some content in Turkey.

A statement issued by the social media giant read: "In response to legal process and to ensure Twitter remains available to the people of Turkey, we have taken action to restrict access to some content in Turkey today.

"We have informed the account holders of this action in line with our policy.

"This content will remain available in the rest of the world."

No detail was given on who the request came from or what Twitter users in Turkey would be restricted from viewing.

The move prompted anger but Twitter boss Elon Musk defended the action, writing on his site: "The choice is have Twitter throttled in its entirety or limit access to some tweets. Which one do you want?"

In response to the Twitter restrictions, Human Rights Watch posted: "Social media and the internet are key sources of news and free debate in Turkey’s elections.

"But the Turkish government’s practice of silencing online dissent could undermine the integrity of the election."

Image source, Getty Images

• Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Turkey’s current president first came to power in 2003 as prime minister in the wake of a sweeping electoral victory by the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP). He spent 11 years as PM before becoming the country's first directly elected president in2014.

• Kemal Kilicdaroglu: The opposition’s unity candidate represents six opposition parties who have combined forces for the presidential and parliamentary elections. Kilicdaroglu has been the head of Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), since 2010.
• Sinan Ogan: The ultra-nationalist has little chance of securing significant success. Ogan, on the other hand, has the potential to be a kingmaker.

Image source, Rex/Shutterstock

Only three days before the elections, something unexpected happened: one of the candidates, Muharrem Ince, withdrew from the race.

Ince, who was once a prominent figure in the CHP before he left the party, had been under increasing pressure for splitting the opposition vote.

He cited fake sex pictures and slandering as some of his reasons for pulling out.

“I don’t want to give the opposition any excuse to blame me if they lost,” he told reporters.

But his name is already on the ballot papers, and some of the voters abroad have already voted for him.

According to Turkey’s Supreme Election Council, these votes will be counted, but no matter what the result is, he won’t be able to be elected as the president or run in the second round.

Opinion polls predicted he would get around 2% of the votes.

• Read more here.

Ece Göksedef
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

The cost of living is seen as the biggest issue of this election. Rent in the big cities trebled in a year and inflation is at its highest since 1998, with the cost of energy, basic food items and transport increasing the most.

Millions of Turks are still having to deal with the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes of 6 February, which hit 11 cities and left tens of thousands dead. The government has been criticised over delays in the rescue operation following the quakes - for which President Erdogan later apologised.

The government has increased public spending, promising higher pensions, bigger scholarships for students, some support for energy bills and greater access to low-interest mortgages.

But many Turks are attracted to opposition promises to scale back Erdogan’s executive presidential powers, narrowly voted through in 2017, and go back to a parliamentary system.

Another issue for voters is the government’s handling of criticism on social media. According to justice ministry data, some 50,000 people have been sued for “defaming the president” since Erdogan took up the job in 2014.

Orla Guerin
Reporting from Ankara

Election day dawned bright and sunny in Ankara, and voters came out early and in numbers.

One central district polling station was bustling soon after the doors opened at 08:00. Local people told us they had never seen it this busy.

Turnout is typically very high in Turkey, but early indications suggest it could be even more so today. Everyone knows this is a pivotal election. The country stands at a crossroad.

A first-time voter called Khan, aged 18, said the 20 years of President Erdogan was enough and he wanted change.

“I don’t care if they put me in jail for saying that,” he said.

A young couple said they hoped this would be a turning point and would bring a better future for their two-year-old daughter, whom they had brought with them in her pushchair.

“We want to be able to tell her about this day in years to come,” they said.

An older woman - with tears in her eyes - told us she hoped that today Turkey would get rid of a "dictator" through democracy. She said it was important that objective observers were here to monitor the voting.

When someone tried to help a disabled voter inside the polling booth there were shouts and objections from others. Police who were already at the polling station were called to intervene.

Volunteer election observers from the main opposition party - the Republic People’s Party (CHP) - were in position. The opposition presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu has called on them to watch over every ballot box to guard against interference.

The 64 million Turks who are eligible to vote are choosing two things.

The first is their president for the next five years. This is crucial, given that President Recep Tayyip is facing possibly his toughest challenge, and that power is concentrated in the presidency.

Secondly, people are deciding who will control parliament. Having a majority in the 600-seat-parliament is still important for passing laws. The opposition is promising to roll back the powers of the president and return the country to a parliamentary system.

Andrew Humphrey
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

Polls have closed in Turkey, and we’re starting our live coverage of what could prove to be a highly consequential election. Welcome along.

The country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been in power for more than 20 years - but he might be facing his toughest challenge yet.

That’s partly because the opposition have combined forces, with six parties falling behind opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu as their unity candidate.

It’s also because of the country is dealing with soaring inflation and the aftermath of two earthquakes that have left more than 50,000 dead.

I’m here in London with Alexandra Binley, and along with our Europe digital editor Paul Kirby who is in Ankara - will take you through the afternoon towards this evening's results and explain what they mean.