Current president, 69-year-old Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seeks to extend his two-decade rule by another five years and faces Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74, the main opposition candidate.

In the first round of the election on may 14, Erdogan won just under 50 percent of the vote, exceeding expectations set by polls and analysts. Kilicdaroglu followed behind with almost 45 percent.

Sunday’s election runoff is the first time in Turkish history when the vote goes to a second round.

Sinan Ogan, an ultranationalist, was eliminated from the first round after coming in third. His 5.2 percent of the vote is expect to largely go towards Erdogan after expressing support for the incumbent.

Polls opened at 8am local time (05:00 GMT) and will close at 5pm. Results are expected to come sooner this round as only two candidates are being voted on.

Both Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu have cast their vote, with the former in Istanbul and the latter in Ankara.

The rhetoric in the first round of the elections was largely centered around the Turkish economy, the repercussions of the deadly earthquake on February 6, and the question of refugees. In the lead up to the second round, the discussion in campaigns shifted to the issue of “terrorism” and the deportation of Syrian refugees.

Voters also cast their ballot in a parliamentary election during the first round, with Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) securing the majority of seats. According to the electoral commission, 10 out of the 11 quake-stricken provinces voted for the party.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu cast his vote at the same time as his election rival Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday afternoon. 

“I call on all of our citizens to cast their votes and go on to protect the ballot boxes,” he told reporters. 

“This election is being held in very dire conditions, as we faced a lot of slander and smear campaigns, but I believe in the common sense of our citizens.” 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the candidate expected to win the presidential race, voted in Istanbul on Sunday afternoon. 

“This is the first time we are witnessing a vote like this in the Turkish democracy history,” Erdogan said of the first-ever second round election in Turkish history. 

“Turkey is continuing its democratic struggle in the best way possible by more than 90 percent election turnout.”
“I hope this election brings prosperity to our country,” Erdogan added. 

Sinan Ogan, the presidential candidate eliminated in the first round of the election, casted his vote in Ankara.

“I hope this vote brings the best for our country, I believe this election will bring stability and prosperity to our homeland,” he said. 

Ogan also criticized what he called a “lynching campaign” which he says are aimed at applying pressure on the electorate to change their minds in what is supposed to be a democratic process.

The ultranationalist figure showed support for politicians such as Meral Aksener, the leader of the opposition IYI party, and Muharrem Ince who withdrew from candidacy days before the elections, alongside the earthquake victims who, according to him, were subjected to such campaigns.

On Monday, Ogan expressed his support for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the election runoff.

Sinan Ogan, the third presidential candidate who was supported by the far-right Ancestral Alliance (ATA), surprisingly gained over five percent of the votes in the first round of elections on May 14. 

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kemal Kilicdaroglu are both hoping to attract votes from Ogan’s supporters, which could be split. Ogan has chosen to back Erdogan, but his Ancestral Alliance said that was “a personal political choice” and announced it was supporting Kilicdaroglu.

On Wednesday, the Victory (Zafer) Party, which is the biggest party in the Ancestral Alliance and known for its anti-Kurdish and anti-refugee politics, signed a seven-point deal with Kilicdaroglu in which he promised to preserve articles in the constitution that protect the Turkish identity of the state and to send refugees back to their home countries in exchange for the alliance’s backing.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which supported Kilicdaroglu in the first round, expressed concerns about that deal, but still opted to renew their support for Kilicdaroglu, saying a change in the country’s presidency is necessary.

“The goal is to build a free, democratic and just regime that is free from discrimination and where people can participate in government,” HDP co-chair Pervin Buldan told reporters on Wednesday.

“We will go to the ballot box and together we will change the one-man regime,” she added, referring to Erdogan who has enjoyed executive powers since 2017.

Under Erdogan’s presidency, HDP has been under intense pressure with its leaders and lawmakers jailed on terrorism charges and thousands of its supporters arrested.