2014 Turkish Presidential Election

The 2014 Turkish presidential election was held on 10 August 2014. It was the first time in the history of the Turkish Republic that the president was elected directly by popular vote, rather than by the Grand National Assembly (parliament). Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the candidate of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), won in the first round with 51.79% of the vote, constituting an outright majority that made a second round unnecessary.

The other candidates were Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, the joint candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who received 38.44%; and Selahattin Demirtaş, who received approximately 9.8%. Voter turnout was approximately 74%, lower than the parliamentary elections of recent years and the local election of 30 March 2014.

Legal basis: the 2007 constitutional amendment

Direct presidential election resulted from a constitutional amendment passed in 2007, which changed the term from seven years (with five-year renewable terms) to five years (renewable once). The amendment arose from a political dispute in 2007 following a Constitutional Court ruling on the parliamentary quorum for presidential elections. Because Abdullah Gül was elected in 2007, the direct election did not take place until 2014.

Candidates and campaigns

Erdoğan announced his candidacy in early July 2014 while still serving as prime minister and AKP chairman. The two largest opposition parties in parliament, the CHP and MHP, agreed to support İhsanoğlu, who had previously served as secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation; he also received support from several smaller parties. Demirtaş, one of the leaders of the Kurdish political movement, appealed to Kurdish voters and the left.

Electoral observation

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE (ODIHR) deployed a limited election observation mission (LEOM) to Ankara on 9 July 2014, following a request from Turkish officials. The mission was headed by ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens and consisted of a core team of experts and long-term observers. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) also sent an observation delegation.

The statement issued by international observers on election day noted that candidates were able to campaign freely, but that the playing field was not level. They cited misuse of state resources, campaigns conducted at official state events, and instances in which one candidate's campaign was subjected to attacks. They also noted concern about restrictive measures taken early in the campaign against media outlets with larger audiences.

Voting abroad

This was the first time Turkish citizens living abroad were able to vote in their country of residence, though voting rights for expatriates had been recognized in 1995 but not previously implemented abroad. Participation among diaspora voters was low and fell short of expectations. Academic research examining expatriate voting in 2014–2018 found that participation rates were lower, and diaspora voters tended to vote similarly to voters within Turkey.

Aftermath

Erdoğan formally took office as president on 28 August 2014, replacing Abdullah Gül. The previous day, 27 August, an AKP party congress elected Ahmet Davutoğlu—who had been foreign minister—as party chairman, and he became prime minister. The new cabinet took office on 29 August 2014.

Political significance

Many analysts viewed the election as a step toward changing Turkey's political system: a directly elected president could claim political authority different from that of previous presidents who had been chosen by parliament, even though the constitution remained parliamentary in character. The formal transition to a presidential system occurred through a constitutional amendment passed on 16 April 2017.