[4] The election had originally been scheduled to take place on 18 June, but the government moved them forward by a month to avoid coinciding with the university exams, the Hajj pilgrimage and the start of the summer holidays.

[7] Two other minor candidates, namely Homeland Party leader Muharrem İnce and anti-immigration ultranationalist Ancestral Alliance nominee Sinan Oğan, also reached the required 100,000 signatures to stand; however, three days before the election, İnce withdrew from the election citing consistent slander and smear campaigns against him by rival candidates, though he still appeared on ballots.

[9][10] The government was criticised by opposition politicians for its slow response to the earthquake and land amnesties prior to it that critics claimed left buildings more vulnerable.

The election marked the country's transition from a parliamentary system to a presidential one, as narrowly endorsed by voters in the controversial 2017 constitutional referendum.

He also confirmed that the current coalition between AKP and MHP will remain intact and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be their joint nominee for President.

[25] After a devastating earthquake struck the country in February 2023, Erdoğan announced a state of emergency for 10 affected provinces, which would end a week ahead of the election date of the 14 May.

[27] AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik responded that Arınç's statement is his own personal view and does not bind the party.

[31][32] 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.

[35] On 1 April, after a drawing conducted by the Supreme Electoral Council, the places of four presidential candidates on the ballot paper were determined as follows: According to article 101 of the Constitution of Turkey, amended following the 2017 constitutional referendum, any political party that has won 5% of the vote in the previous parliamentary election can put forward a candidate.

[45] Voters were able to give signatures to their preferred presidential candidate between 22 and 27 March at their local electoral council branch.

[100] Özdağ's main terms included "continuation of the trustee practice for the fight against terrorism" and "forcibly returning the immigrants within a year if necessary".

[107] Next day, nevertheless, HDP and Green Left Party have announced that they will continue to support Kılıçdaroğlu in the second round, and said they "will change the one-man regime".

[110][needs update] According to journalist İsmail Saymaz, Kılıçdaroğlu was going to adopt a more aggressive language until 28 May and the AK Party would be attacked over the relationship between HÜDA PAR and Hezbollah.

[91] Kılıçdaroğlu claimed that Erdoğan, has "deliberately allowed ten million refugees into Turkey" and has put "Turkish citizenship on sale to get imported votes".

[122][123] While visiting the burials of citizens who lost their lives during the earthquake in Adıyaman Province, Kılıçdaroğlu was subjected to a verbal attack while he was reciting Al-Fatiha.

[130] Similarly, presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın said "Video edited by a group of witty young people.

[133] On 25 May, the Ankara 6th Criminal Court of Peace blocked access to a troll account that shared fake footage used by Erdoğan during the election process, on the grounds that it "attacks personal rights".

[133] An allegedly fake sex video purporting to portray Muharrem İnce was circulated before he dropped out of the race.

[134] İnce claimed that deepfake technology had been used to make the video and stated he had suffered "character assassination" and blamed the country's journalists and public prosecutors for not protecting him from the "fury of slander".

[135] One day before the election, the website Ekşi Sözlük was blocked from access reasoned as "for the protection of national security and public order".

[136] On the eve of the election, Elon Musk's Twitter restricted access within Turkey to accounts that were critical of Erdoğan at the request of the Turkish government.

[35][139] The first results mainly come from smaller rural towns, where Erdogan and his AK party are generally popular.

Ahmet Yener of the Supreme Election Council said these delays were "normal" and that the increase in the number of ballots and contesting parties slowed counting.

[142] A few days before the first round, Kılıçdaroğlu and the CHP accused Russia of foreign electoral interference, claiming it to be the source of many "plots, montages and deepfakes".

[148] On 23 May, Adil Aliyev, deputy chairman of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, made a propaganda speech on behalf of the People's Alliance in Melekli district of Iğdır, Oğan's hometown.

[149] As no candidate was able to secure a majority of votes, a runoff took place between the top two finishers, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, on 28 May.

He urged his supporters to continue to fight to uphold democratic principles and expressed frustration at the massive influx of refugees in his country, commenting that "Turkish people have become second class citizens.

[161] After Erdoğan was declared elected, President of the European Council Charles Michel congratulated Erdogan, stating that he "looks forward to working with you again to deepen EU-Turkey relations in the years to come.

"[162] Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States, said in a message, "I offer my sincere congratulations to President Erdogan for his victory in the 2nd round of the Presidential Elections of the Republic of Turkey, and wish him good luck for the Republic of Turkey, the brotherly Turkish people and the entire Turkic world.

"[163] Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha wished Erdoğan success in taking his country further and prosperous in his new term.