[1][2][3] The previous Turkish general election took place on 14 May 2023, the second since a presidential system replaced the existing parliamentary one following a controversial 2017 referendum which narrowly approved amendments to the constitution.

[4][5] The 2023 election was mainly contested between incumbent president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the opposition Nation Alliance candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu of the Republican People's Party (CHP).

Both candidates earned 49.5% and 44.8% of the vote respectively in the first round, triggering a runoff on 28 May for the first time since direct elections for the presidency were instituted in 2014.

[11][12] Snap elections can be held either with the consent of 60% of the MPs in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey or ordered by presidential decree.

Any political party that has won 5% of the vote in the previous parliamentary election can put forward a candidate, although parties that have not met this threshold can form alliances and field joint candidates as long as their total vote share exceeds 5%.