General election campaign kicks off in Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey’s general election campaign is kicking off on Saturday, March 18. It will last until May 13, which will be "the day of silence", Tass reports.

The general election is scheduled for May 14. If the presidential election requires a runoff, it will be held on May 28. According to the Turkish election authority's decision, the nomination of presidential candidates will take place on March 19-23. The candidates will be able to launch their election campaigns after a candidate list is published on March 31, the TRT TV channel reported on Saturday.

Political parties and alliances taking part in the election are expected to submit their candidate lists to the election authority by the end of day on March 24.

On March 10, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree on holding the election, which was initially set for June 18.

Erdogan will be the presidential candidate for the ruling People's Alliance, and Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the Republican People's Party, is going to be his main challenger. There will also be other candidates whose chances of winning appear slim, according to experts.

A presidential candidate needs to gain more than 50% of the vote to win in the first round. If no candidate passes the 50% threshold, a run-off is held between the top two contenders.