Turks vote in crunch election as President Erdogan faces greatest threat to his 20-year rule

Millions of Turks are headed to the polls Sunday successful what is acceptable to beryllium Turkey's astir consequential predetermination successful 2 decades, and 1 whose results volition person implications acold beyond its ain borders.

The state of 85 cardinal holds some its statesmanlike and parliamentary elections connected May 14. For the presidency — which is expected to beryllium adjacent — if nary campaigner wins much than 50%, the ballot goes to a run-off 2 weeks later.

Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing his toughest trial yet aft 2 decades successful power, grappling with nationalist choler implicit worsening economical conditions and the dilatory authorities effect to a bid of devastating earthquakes successful February that killed much than 50,000 people.

His superior opponent, 74-year-old Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the center-left Republican People's Party (CHP), is moving arsenic a unity campaigner representing six antithetic parties that each privation to spot Erdogan retired of power.  

In a perchance game-changing development, 1 of the 4 statesmanlike candidates, Muharrem Ince, pulled retired of the contention Thursday. A erstwhile CHP member, helium had been nether dense disapproval for splitting the absorption ballot successful a mode that would wounded Kilicdaroglu's chances.

Now, with Ince retired of the race, his votes whitethorn spell to Erdogan's apical challenger Kilicdaroglu, helping him tremendously and spelling much occupation for the 69-year-old Erdogan.

Another important origin volition beryllium turnout: More than 5 cardinal young Turks volition beryllium voting for the archetypal time, and the greater the younker turnout, the amended for the challenger campaigner and the worse for the incumbent, predetermination analysts say.

With specified a high-stakes contest, galore wrong and retired of the state are asking whether Erdogan whitethorn quality the effect if helium does not win.

"The astir apt tactics that he's going to usage to effort to extremity the ballot volition beryllium to usage power successful the electoral committee (the YSK), courts, and media to physique a communicative that either elections should beryllium re-run oregon that they are illegitimate," said Ryan Bohl, a elder Middle East and North Africa expert astatine Rane. Erdogan did this successful 2019 erstwhile his enactment narrowly mislaid the Istanbul mayoral race, lone to suffer again by a greater borderline aft demanding a re-run.

Some adjacent fearfulness unit and instability if the effect is disputed, which would bring much volatility to Turkey's already damaged economy. Turkish and overseas analysts and rights activists person for years been sounding the alarm implicit increasingly autocratic governance coming from Erdogan's administration.

CNBC has reached retired to the Turkish Presidency's bureau for comment.

The election's result and its interaction connected stableness successful the country, which sits arsenic a crossroads betwixt Europe and Asia and is location to NATO's second-largest military, is of paramount value some domestically and internationally.

"There is truthful overmuch astatine involvement for President Erdogan and his AKP (Justice and Development Party) for the archetypal time, arsenic his 20-year regularisation implicit Türkiye whitethorn travel to an extremity fixed the unified absorption has managed to support a beardown confederation and enactment connected a hope-building affirmative campaign," said Hakan Akbas, managing manager of consulting steadfast Strategic Advisory Services based betwixt Istanbul and Washington.

This is similar, helium noted, to "what Istanbul Mayor Emrak Imamoglu did to triumph doubly against Erdogan's AKP campaigner successful the mayoral predetermination successful 2019."

Imamoglu, a fashionable fig who was wide expected to tally for the presidency arsenic a formidable hostile to Erdogan, was successful December sentenced to astir 3 years successful situation and barred from authorities for what a tribunal described arsenic insulting the judges of the Supreme Election Council (YSK). Imamoglu and his supporters accidental the charges are purely governmental and were influenced by Erdogan and his enactment to sabotage his governmental ambitions. 

Politically, Turkey is highly divided, with candidates utilizing polarizing and fear-mongering messages successful an effort to galvanize voters. But for astir Turkish citizens, system is apical of caput arsenic the state stares down a cost-of-living situation with the authoritative ostentation fig hovering astir 50% and a currency that has mislaid 77% of its worth against the dollar successful 5 years.

"The adjacent president of Türkiye volition look the situation of restoring economical stableness and authorities institutions specified arsenic the cardinal bank, treasury, and wealthiness money and rebuild capitalist confidence," Akbas told CNBC.

"The state suffers from historically debased FX reserves, widening existent relationship deficit, artificially overvalued section currency, undisciplined fiscal equilibrium and persistent, precocious inflation."

Even if Erdogan wins, Akbas said, "after years of debased involvement complaint policies that person contributed to precocious ostentation and currency devaluation, helium would apt request to set his economical argumentation to code the existent economical situation and pull investment."