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Erdoğan wins the first executive-presidency election

On 24 June 2018 Erdoğan won the first presidential election under the new executive system, with a snap vote he had called with early parliamentary elections. In the causal graph this event weakens Democratic Resilience, a driver that strengthens Having a say in government — a worsening welfare path.

Sources: [1][2]

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On 24 June 2018 Erdoğan won the first presidential election under the new executive system, with a snap vote he had called with early parliamentary elections.

Context

The snap combined presidential and parliamentary polls. Emergency rule had ended weeks earlier. YSK certified; he took the new-style oath. OSCE noted advantages of incumbency.

The 2017 referendum is a different date. The 2023 runoff is a different date.

The president of Turkey is head of state and, since the 2017 executive-presidency reform, head of government. The Grand National Assembly writes statutes; the Official Gazette records decrees; courts, governors, and the armed forces implement. He does not write a European Council conclusion, an IMF programme, or a UN General Assembly resolution.

Why it matters

The path is democratic-resilience: the first election under the new system completes the 2017 package.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.65 · verified

    He called the snap vote and won the certified count. YSK administered. The 2017 package had already changed the office.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactErdoğan wins the first executive-presidency election
    2. weakensDriverDemocratic Resilience
    3. strengthensIndicators (3)Having a say in government
    Worsening path

    impact weight 0.45 · Effect from 24 June 2018 · verified

    Completing the first executive-presidency election after a 2017 package that reduced checks is a dated concentration step.

    • Having a say in government

      via Democratic Resilience

      Worse

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.32 (weight 0.45 × strength 0.7)

      Observed

      29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      Two readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).

      20212023

      Above normal = better

    • Clean elections index

      via Democratic Resilience

      Worse

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.2 (weight 0.45 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      0.53 score from 0 to 1 · 0.34 below the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      125 readings, 1900–2024: rose from 0.17 score from 0 to 1 to 0.53 score from 0 to 1.

      Above normal = better

    • WJP Rule of Law Index (global)

      via Democratic Resilience

      Worse

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.2 (weight 0.45 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      0.55 index score (0-1) · 0.26 below the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      Above normal = better

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.YSK Decision No. 952 — final results of the 24 June 2018 presidential election (in Turkish)Supreme Election Council of Turkey · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Reuters — Erdogan wins Turkey’s executive presidencyReuters · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Supreme Election Council of Turkey carries the official instrument or communique. Reuters records the same dated act independently.

Established: a 24 June 2018 certified presidential victory under the new executive system, independently reported.

Not established: that the snap vote was illegal, or a unique later inflation coefficient from the oath.

YSK administered. The 2017 package had already changed the office.. A later repeal, court stay, or successor order would be a different Fact with a different date. That pair identifies Erdoğan wins the first executive-presidency election, not a later speech about Erdoğan wins the first executive-presidency election.

Co-authors and later implementers named in Context remain on the file. If a later repeal, stay, or successor decree exists, it needs its own date and its own row. The contribution described on this Person row is limited to He called the snap vote and won the certified count. YSK administered. That limit is the alternative to treating office-holding as authorship of every later series. The Grand National Assembly, the Official Gazette, governors, courts, and foreign counterparties share specific files. Allegation is not a completed judgment. A detention is not a conviction.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorRecep Tayyip Erdoğan
  2. contributed toFactErdoğan wins the first executive-presidency election
  3. weakensDriverDemocratic Resilience
  4. strengthensIndicatorHaving a say in government

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). Erdoğan wins the first executive-presidency election. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/tr-2018-presidential-election

https://factrail.ai/facts/tr-2018-presidential-election

Accessed 16 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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