Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Turkey elections edition

We begin today with Fariba Nawa of The Christian Science Monitor and her preview of today’s presidential and parlimentary elections in Turkey.

Sunday’s presidential and parliamentary elections occur in a year that marks 100 years since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s founder, formed a republic in 1923 from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire and built a secular democracy.

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The elections are also widely seen as an international bellwether...given the proliferation of populist leaders worldwide. “Turkey can offer insights for all cases of autocracy across the globe,” Dr. Gunduz suggests.

Polls show Mr. Erdoğan and Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu are neck and neck; if neither presidential candidate secures 50% of the vote on Sunday, they will compete in a runoff. The campaign mood has been tense but jubilant with packed campaign rallies and events on the streets across the country featuring music, dancing, and impassioned speeches. Voting is mandatory and polls suggest that 90% of first-time voters, including 240,000 Syrian refugees who have been granted citizenship, will turn out.