Turkiye prepares for pivotal runoff election.

Turkish President Erdogan pays homage to his executed Islamic predecessor Adnan Menderes on the eve of a historic runoff vote against secular challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Erdogan outperformed expectations in the first round but fell short of an outright victory, setting up Turkiye’s first election runoff. While few believe Erdogan will fail to extend two decades of conservative Islamic-rooted rule to 2028, pro-Kilicdaroglu activists are trying to pierce the air of inevitability. Observers say the polls were competitive but hardly fair, with the criminalisation of some political forces preventing full political pluralism.