The Turkish presidential elections of 10 August 2014

Abstract

The Turkish presidential elections of 10 August 2014 were the first direct elections in the history of republican Turkey. The election of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the first round illustrated his dominant position in Turkish politics, as well as the inability of opposition parties to provide an alternative candidate who appealed to the Turkish electorate. Growing social polarization and concern about emerging autocratic tendencies, corruption allegations and the multilevel crisis in the Middle East failed to dissuade Turkish voters. Nevertheless, the fulfilment of Erdoğan’s declared intention of introducing presidentialism in Turkey will depend on the result of the upcoming parliamentary elections, to be held in June 2015 at the latest. © 2015, © 2015 Taylor & Francis.