Turkey elections: Young voters who could decide Turkey's future

"If Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins again, beingness volition beryllium a nightmare for each of us," said Perit, a 23-year-old Istanbul student.

He was jailed and spent astir 2 months successful solitary confinement for taking portion successful a protestation astatine the prestigious Bogazici University implicit the assignment of a pro-government dean.

Perit has voted lone erstwhile before, and his friends Sude and Emru are among 5 cardinal first-time voters who person known nary different Turkish person but Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Life for young radical successful Turkey has go progressively difficult, Emru complained, pointing to soaring ostentation of presently 44% according to authoritative figures.

"You can't spend to conscionable study, you besides person to get a full-time occupation to get by."

Like her friends, Sude plans to ballot for the absorption successful Sunday's statesmanlike and parliamentary elections.

"I don't consciousness harmless for expressing my emotions oregon opinions. Because whenever I bash I get attacked," she said. She was handed a suspended jailhouse condemnation of 12 months earlier this year, for attending protests astatine Bogazici University.

Perit believes that aft 20 years of Mr Erdogan and his AK Party successful power, the clip for alteration has come.

"Two decades is specified a agelong clip to alteration people's mentality: people's knowing of ideology and quality rights. If Erdogan wins again this could beryllium our past election. Regime could change."

The predetermination contention is precise choky and President Erdogan is facing his biggest situation yet from absorption campaigner Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who represents a bloc of six parties and has besides secured the backing of much absorption groups.

The millions of of first-time voters marque up astir 8% of the electorate, and galore successful Turkey spot them arsenic the largest radical of undecided voters.

For Salih aged 20, the prime could not beryllium clearer. "I deliberation Recep Tayyip Erdogan is simply a charismatic leader, it's important to person specified charisma successful Turkish politics," helium told the BBC.

He believes Mr Erdogan tin physique connected his erstwhile achievements, investing successful Turkey's future.

"Previously determination were problems implicit vigor proviso and Turkey was babelike connected different countries militarily. But present we are producing our ain cars, UAVs (drones) and aircraft. Mr Erdogan solved each our problems," helium said.

Unsurprisingly each the candidates challenging for the presidency person tried to woo young voters.

While Mr Erdogan has emphasised advances successful defence and technology, Mr Kilicdaroglu has promised greater freedoms and amended employment prospects.

But Gizem, 20, argues it is the president who has improved freedoms successful Turkey.

"Everyone is escaped to bash immoderate they similar now. It was the absorption who curbed freedoms decades ago. Girls wearing headscarves similar I bash were not allowed successful universities," she said.

One of Mr Erdogan's landmark reforms was to assistance a decades-old prohibition connected Islamist headscarves successful universities and the civilian service.

"If we person teachers, doctors, engineers wearing headscarves successful this state today, that is each acknowledgment to the freedoms Mr Erdogan has granted. If it wasn't for him, we would inactive beryllium oppressed successful the sanction of secularism," she explained.

Mr Kilicdaroglu introduced a measure successful parliament past twelvemonth to unafraid the close of pistillate nationalist servants to deterioration headscarves. Mr Erdogan responded by offering to instrumentality the contented to a referendum instead. The contented has since been shelved.

Two different candidates are challenging for the presidency: Muharrem Ince, a nationalist centre-left person and Sinan Ogan, from the nationalist right.

Recent polls suggest that some of them entreaty chiefly to young voters, truthful supporters of the main absorption bloc fearfulness they could erode Mr Kilicdaroglu's ballot and unit the elections into a 2nd circular run-off 2 weeks later.

To triumph outright connected Sunday, a campaigner volition person to unafraid much than fractional the vote.

The votes of women volition besides beryllium decisive, and they marque up 50.6% of the full electorate.

It is thought that blimpish women helped bring Mr Erdogan to powerfulness 2 decades ago, but that enactment is present dwindling.

His determination to propulsion Turkey retired of the Istanbul Convention - an planetary accord designed to support women against home unit - has alienated galore women and prompted ample protests.

In the past helium has referred to women who are not mothers "half a woman". He advised women to person astatine slightest 3 children and said men and women could not beryllium treated equally.

One of the party's successful his People's Alliance is an utmost Islamist enactment called Huda Par (Free Cause) and that has raised concerns among pistillate MPs successful his ain AK Party.

Feminist Gulsum Kav argues the authorities does not judge successful intersexual equality and says women's freedoms person been curbed: "They get attacked for wearing shorts, pistillate musicians are threatened with jailhouse presumption due to the fact that of however they dress, and artists get sentenced for criticising a enactment battle case."

"They privation women to beryllium astatine location and bash nothing. But women person changed. They volition alteration Turkey too."