Competition in a Populist Authoritarian Regime: The June 2018 Dual Elections in Turkey

Abstract

This article examines the June 2018 presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey. I maintain that Turkey’s populist authoritarian regime context simultaneously hyperpoliticised and depoliticised the electoral process, as this regime decreased the uncertainty of electoral outcomes and yet the ballot box became the singular legitimate political arena to challenge it. I begin the paper with a discussion of the political context of the elections: political regime dynamics, the new hyperpresidential system, as well as the electoral rules and voting behaviour. I then scrutinise the electoral campaign strategies of the major parties and candidates with an emphasis on the strategies of the opposition in counteracting the uneven playing field. Finally, I analyse the electoral results and discuss their implications.