2018 Toyota Owners 400, Practice, Final practice
Kyle Larson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 22.441 seconds and a speed of 120.315 mph (193.628 km/h).


2018 Toyota Owners 400, Qualifying
Martin Truex Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 21.799 and a speed of 123.859 mph (199.332 km/h).


2018 Toyota Owners 400, Race, First stage
Martin Truex Jr. led the field to the green flag at 6:44 p.m., Truex, the reigning series champion, and Elliott started on the front row. It was the third pole of the year for Truex and the best starting spot of the season for Elliott. Joey Logano took the lead from Truex and Logano won the opening stage after leading 62 of the first 100 laps. Almirola was second followed by Kurt Busch, William Byron, Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Truex and Harvick and the first caution flew for the conclusion of the first stage


2018 Toyota Owners 400, Race, Second stage
The race resumed on lap 102, There were two lead changes at the start of the second stage, Joey Logano, who won this race one year ago before being hit with a major penalty that prevented him from using the victory to qualify for the 2017 playoffs, won the second stage after also taking the first. Both stages went caution free. Following Logano, were three Stewart-Haas Racing drivers: Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola and Kurt Busch. William Byron was fifth, Kyle Busch sixth and Ryan Newman seventh. Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 10, and caution flew for the second time for conclusion of the second stage.


2018 Toyota Owners 400, Race, Final stage
Back to green on lap 213, Other than cautions for the stage breaks, the yellow flagged remained out of sight through 350 of 400 laps.


2018 Toyota Owners 400, Race, Final stage
Caution flew for the third time when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact with Ryan Blaney and collected Cole Whitt in turn 4. Brad Keselowski made a narrow escape, squeezing past and nearly grazing the inside wall that borders pit road.


2018 Toyota Owners 400, Race, Final stage
The race resumed on lap 362, and caution #4 flew seven laps later for contact between Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray in turn two caused Ryan Newman to run into the back of McMurray coming off of turn two, which ended up causing Newman’s car to start smoking, McMurray was able to make repairs on pit road and remain in the race, one lap down.


2018 Toyota Owners 400, Race, Final stage
Back to green on lap 379 and the fifth caution of the race flew when avid Ragan spun in turn three, and Kyle Larson won the free pass under the caution.


2018 Toyota Owners 400, Race, Final stage
The race went back under green on lap 398 and the sixth caution of the race flew for debris in turn 3 after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun in the wall, sending the race into overtime.


2018 Toyota Owners 400, Race, Overtime
The race resumed on lap 400 for a two-lap NASCAR Overtime, Kyle Busch, who started from the 32nd spot, worked his way to the front early on and went on to win his third consecutive race.


2018 Toyota Owners 400, Race, Post-race
"All these guys on this M&Ms Camry team do a great job for me. I can't say enough about Adam Stevens and my guys on the pit crew tonight. They won this race for us," Busch said. "They got us off pit road first those last two times that we came down for tires and got us to where we needed to be."


2018 Toyota Owners 400, Race, Post-race, Driver comments
“It's definitely cool we’ve won three in a row. We did it a couple years ago and now I don't know if you can shoot for four in a row," he said. "It's hard to go to Talladega with that much of a winning streak and think that you can go to victory lane, but we’re going to go there anyway and give it a shot. . . . Our guys are amazing. They're awesome every week and I love racing with these guys and Joe Gibbs Racing."


2018 Toyota Owners 400, Media, Television
Fox Sports covered their 18th race at the Richmond Raceway. Mike Joy, two-time Richmond winner Jeff Gordon and six-time Richmond winner Darrell Waltrip had the call in the booth for the race. Regan Smith, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side.


2018 Toyota Owners 400, Media, Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and six-time Richmond winner Rusty Wallace called the race in the booth when the field raced down the frontstretch. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field raced down the backstretch. Winston Kelley, Alex Hayden and Glenn Jarrett worked pit road for the radio side.


2018 Toyota Racing Series
The 2018 Castrol Toyota Racing Series was the fourteenth running of the Toyota Racing Series, the premier open-wheel motorsport category held in New Zealand. The series consisted of fifteen races at five meetings. It began on 13 January at Ruapuna Park in Christchurch, and concluded on 11 February with the 63rd running of the New Zealand Grand Prix, at Circuit Chris Amon in Feilding.


2018 Toyota Racing Series
M2 Competition driver Robert Shwartzman won the title, being the only driver who finished in the top-five every race of the season. His teammates (and series returnees) Richard Verschoor and Marcus Armstrong had more podium finishes and race wins, but were not as consistent as Shwartzman. Another M2 driver Juan Manuel Correa raced his first season in the series, but was not considered as a rookie due to his GP3 Series experience, and he won races at Teretonga and Taupo; he finished fourth in the standings. Giles Motorsport driver Clément Novalak was the highest placed rookie who conformed series regulations, winning races at Teretonga and Hampton Downs and completed the top-five in the championship.


2018 Toyota Racing Series, Race calendar and results
The calendar for the series was announced on 22 June 2017, and was held over five successive weekends in January and February.


2018 Toyota Racing Series, Championship standings
In order for a driver to score championship points, they have to complete at least 75% of the race winner's distance, and be running at the race's completion. All races counted towards the final championship standings.


2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350
The 2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on June 24, 2018 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. Contested over 110 laps on the 1.99-mile (3.20 km) road course, it was the 16th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.


2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350, Report, Background
Sonoma Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway and Infineon Raceway is a 2.52-mile (4.06 km) road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains in Sonoma, California, USA. The road course features 12 turns on a hilly course with 160 feet (49 m) of total elevation change.


2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350, Report, Background
It is host to one of only three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races each year that are run on road courses (the others being Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York and the road course layout for the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway). It is also host to the Verizon IndyCar Series and several other auto races and motorcycle races such as the American Federation of Motorcyclists series. Sonoma Raceway continues to host amateur, or club racing events which may or may not be open to the general public. The largest such car club is the Sports Car Club of America.


2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350, Practice, First practice
Clint Bowyer was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 76.547 seconds and a speed of 93.590 mph (150.619 km/h).


2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350, Practice, Final practice
Kurt Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 76.163 seconds and a speed of 94.061 mph (151.377 km/h).


2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350, Qualifying
Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 75.732 and a speed of 94.597 mph (152.239 km/h).


2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350, Media, Television
Fox NASCAR televised the race in the United States on FS1 for the fourth consecutive year. Mike Joy was the lap-by-lap announcer, while six-time Sonoma winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip were the color commentators. Jamie Little, Regan Smith and Matt Yocum reported from pit lane during the race. This is also Fox Sports' last Cup race for their portion of the season as NBC Sports takes over NASCAR broadcasts for the rest of the season.


2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350, Media, Radio
Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by Performance Racing Network. PRN's broadcast of the race was simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow announced the race in the booth while the field was racing on the pit straight. Pat Patterson called the race from a stand outside of turn 2 when the field was racing up turns 2, 3 and 3a. Brad Gillie called the race from a stand outside of turn 7a when the field was racing through turns 4a and 7a. The field came back into the view of the booth in turns 8 and 9. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard outside turn 11 when the field was racing through turns 10 and 11. Heather DeBeaux, Brett McMillan and Jim Noble reported from pit lane during the race.


2018 Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2018 Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council election to elect members of Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council in England took place on 3 May 2018. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2018 Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council election
One third of the council stood for election, with each successful candidate serving a four-year term of office, expiring in 2022. The Conservative Party held overall control of the council going into the election but lost 5 seats, with Labour holding the larger number of councillors, meaning the council entered a state of no overall control.


2018 Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships
The 33rd Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships were held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, from November 7–10, 2018.


2018 Trans-Am Series
The 2018 Trans-Am Series season was the fiftieth running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. It began on March 2 at Sebring International Raceway and ran for twelve rounds.


2018 Travelers Curling Club Championship
The 2018 Travelers Curling Club Championship was held from November 19 to 24 at the Miramichi Curling Club in Miramichi, New Brunswick.


2018 Travelers Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship
The 2018 Travelers Men's NOCA Provincials, the provincial men's curling championship of Northern Ontario was held February 7–11 at the NEMI Rec Centre in Little Current, Ontario. The winning Brad Jacobs team represented Northern Ontario at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier in Regina, Saskatchewan.


2018 Tre Valli Varesine
The 2018 Tre Valli Varesine was the 98th edition of the Tre Valli Varesine road cycling one day race. It was held on 9 October 2018 as part of the 2018 UCI Europe Tour in category 1.HC, over a distance of 203 km, starting in Saronno and ending in Varese.


2018 Tre Valli Varesine, Teams
Twenty-five teams were invited to take part in the race. These included thirteen UCI WorldTeams, eight UCI Professional Continental teams and four UCI Continental teams.


2018 Trek–Segafredo season
The 2018 cycling season began in Australia at the Tour Down Under for Trek-Segafredo in January.


2018 Trek–Segafredo season
As a UCI WorldTeam, they are automatically invited and obliged to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.


2018 Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol provincial elections
The Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol provincial elections of 2018 took place on 21 October 2018.


2018 Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol provincial elections, Trentino
In Trentino, the president is elected directly by the people; the candidate who gains more vote is elected president.


2018 Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol provincial elections, Trentino, Analysis
Similar to the election in Molise and the election in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the M5S lost c. 15% of votes compared to the general election. On March 4, they reached almost 25%, but now just over 7%. By contrast, the centre-right coalition gained more than 10% compared to March 4.


2018 Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol provincial elections, South Tyrol
In South Tyrol, all 35 members of the Provincial council (Landtag) are up for re-election. The council elects a government headed by a president (Landeshauptmann).


2018 Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol provincial elections, South Tyrol
In the 2013 election, the South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP) lost its absolute majority for the first time since 1948.


2018 Treviso Open
The Dynamic Billard Treviso Open 2018 (sometimes known as the 2018 Italy Open) was the sixth and final Euro Tour 9-Ball pool event in 2018. The event was won by Russia's Fedor Gorst who defeated Poland's Mateusz Śniegocki 9–7 in the final. This was Gorst's first Euro Tour victory.


2018 Treviso Open
Wiktor Zieliński was the defending champion, after having won the 2017 Treviso Open, but lost matches to  Andreas Madsen and Tobias Bongers in the double elimination round.


2018 Treviso Open, Tournament format
The event saw a total of 193 players compete, in a double-elimination knockout tournament, until the last 32 stage; where the tournament was contested as single elimination.


2018 Treviso Open, Tournament format, Prize fund
The tournament prize fund was similar to that of other Euro Tour events, with €4,500 for the winner of the event.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago Charity Shield
The 2018 Trinidad and Tobago Charity Shield (known as the Digicel Charity Shield for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth edition of the Charity Shield, which is a football match that opened the 2018 Pro League season. The match will be played on 1 June 2018, between the winners of the previous season's TT Pro League and FA Trophy competitions. It officially kicks off the 2018 TT Pro League season. W Connection won their 4th title after beating North East Stars 7-1.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago Charity Shield, Pre-match, Entry
W Connection qualified by winning the 2017 Trinidad and Tobago FA Trophy , defeating Police 3–1 in the final at Ato Boldon Stadium. W Connection claimed victories over Tamana United 12–0, Bethel United 3–0, Cunupia 3-2, Guaya United 1-0 and 1976 FC Phoenix 3-0 en route to the final. The 2017 FA Trophy was the Savonetta Boys' fifth title and consequently gained a berth in the 2018. Digicel Charity Shield.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago Charity Shield, Pre-match, Entry
North East Stars qualified for their first Charity Shield by clinching the TT Pro League title on 24 November 2018. It was their first Pro League title since 2004. North East Stars started Pro League by going 6 games unbeaten until they slipped up 1-0 against Point Fortin Civic F.C.. From there they were already top of the league. The club would go on to lose only one game to finish 7 points ahead of second place W Connection and secured their second title after a thirteen season drought.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago League Cup
The 2018 Trinidad and Tobago League Cup (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2018 First Citizens Cup) was the nineteenth season of the First Citizens Cup, which is the league cup competition for Trinidad and Tobago teams competing in the TT Pro League and will run from the 8 June to 20 July. W Connection entered as the cup holders having defeated Defence Force by a score of 3–1 in the 2017 final. The cup underwent a format change where the clubs were divided into 2 groups of 5 teams. The teams would play each other once on a round-robin basis and the top 2 teams from each group would advance to the semifinals.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago League Cup, Group Stage
In the group stage, each teams played each other twice round-robin basis. The top 2 teams from each group advanced to the semifinals.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago League Cup group stage
The group stage for the First Citizens Cup began on 8 June.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago League Cup group stage, Groups
The teams were drawn into 2 groups of 5 teams, who will play each other once. The top two teams will advance to the semifinals.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago floods
The 2018 Trinidad and Tobago floods were a series of over-bank floods and flash-floods occurring in the twin-island Caribbean nation, Trinidad and Tobago. These events followed consistent rainfall on Friday 19 October 2018 and intermittent rainfall on Saturday 20 October 2018. Rivers in Caroni, Diego Martin and Maraval breached their banks. Several communities were evacuated as homes and vehicles were flooded; many areas were inaccessible. Flooding along the Caroni Plain caused the submersion of a major part of the Uriah Butler Highway. The south-bound lane of this highway was temporarily closed to vehicular traffic. The north-bound lane was temporarily used for two-way traffic, permitting only large SUVs and heavy-T vehicles. Flight services out of Piarco International Airport were temporarily disrupted.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago floods, Rainfall and Met Office warnings
Consistent rainfall persisted throughout the day on Friday 19 October 2018. Trinidad and Tobago is located on the band of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), making it prone to over-bank river flooding, flash flooding, and landslides following extreme and erratic rainfall. The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS) upgraded the Riverine Flood Alert level from orange to red. Citizens were advised then to secure themselves and their property and execute emergency evacuation procedures.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago floods, Flooded areas/ communities
The following (incomplete) lists areas and communities were affected severely by flooding.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago floods, Flooded roads and highways
The following table (incomplete) shows some of the roadways and highways that were affected.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago floods, Landslides and landslips
The following table shows a list (not yet complete) of landslides/landslips that have occurred.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago presidential election
Indirect presidential elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on 19 January 2018.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago presidential election
On 5 January 2018, the name of Paula-Mae Weekes, a judge of the Turks and Caicos Islands Court of Appeal, was put forward by the PNM government of Prime Minister Keith Rowley in hopes of reaching a consensus with the UNC-led parliamentary opposition of Kamla Persad-Bissessar, which later indeed endorsed her nomination as well. As Weekes was the only nominated candidate on election day, she was deemed elected without the need for a vote. Paula-Mae Weeks thus became the first woman to take office as president of Trinidad and Tobago on 19 March 2018.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago presidential election, Electoral method
The President of Trinidad and Tobago is indirectly elected for a 5-year term by an electoral college comprising all 41 members of the House of Representatives and all 31 members of the Senate.


2018 Trinidad and Tobago presidential election, Electoral method
To win the election a candidate must gain a plurality of votes cast, whereby a quorum comprising the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 10 Senators and 12 other member of the House of Representatives must be met for the election to be considered valid. If only one candidate should be nominated to run in the election, he or she shall be considered to have been elected president without the need for a vote to take place.


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election
The 2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election was held on 18 February for 59 of the state's 60 constituencies. The counting of votes took place on 3 March 2018. With 43% of the vote, the BJP secured a majority of seats (36) and subsequently formed the government with Biplab Kumar Deb as Chief Minister. The former governing Left Front alliance while receiving 42.7% of the vote secured only 16 seats.


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Background
The term of the Tripura Legislative Assembly ended on 6 March 2018. Having governed Tripura since the 1998 election, the ruling Left Front alliance, under Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, sought re-election. Meanwhile, the region in general had been under the political control of the Communist Party for 25 years prior to the election, leading to the region being dubbed a "red holdout".


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Background
Their primary challengers came in the form of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which under the leadership of Narendra Modi was the governing party of India on a national level. The BJP is a nationalist, rightist party, whose policies directly oppose those of the Communists. However, the party claimed no seats, and a mere 1.5% of the vote, in the region's previous election.


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Background
Despite the relatively small size of Tripura, the election took on additional significance on a national level as it was an acid test to gauge the successes of the BJP ahead of next year's general election, and a chance to strip the communists, the party's "primary ideological enemy", of its stronghold.


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Background
Prior to the election, a number of workers of the BJP were murdered. The BJP alleged that the murders were committed by CPI(M) members, which the party denies.


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Schedule
The Election Commission of India announced that the Legislative Assembly elections in Tripura will be held on 18 February 2018 and the results will be announced on 3 March 2018.


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Schedule, Electoral process changes
VVPAT-fitted EVMs was used in entire Tripura state in all polling stations in the 2018 elections, which was the first time that the entire state saw the implementation of VVPAT.


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Schedule, Electoral process changes
The election took place in a single phase on 18 February 2018 with 89.8% voter turnout. The results were announced on 3 March 2018.


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Campaign
The other major force in the election was the Indian National Congress, who had taken 36.5% of the popular vote in the region in 2013. They are also, on a wider scale, the largest force in opposing Modi and the BJP in parliament. As such, Rahul Gandhi, in his capacity as the party's leader, campaigned in the region. They were determined to prevent the BJP from seizing control on the region, as such an outcome would represent the "demise of the Left".


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Results
The incumbent Left Front government was defeated after 25 years of office out of which Manik Sarkar served for about 20 years, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura winning a large majority of seats. The Indian National Congress, which was the second largest party in the 2013 election, lost all its seats and most of its vote share.


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Reactions
The BJP chose Biplab Kumar Deb to be the next Chief Minister. He said: "I am ready to take the responsibility. I will not run away from taking the responsibility. I have already been given a bigger responsibility, the party's state presidentship, which I have been fulfilling to the best of my ability. People responded favourably to our call 'Chalo Paltai' (let's change)." He claimed that having the same party in the central government and at the state level "helps in faster development."


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Reactions
He further called for restraint in post-electoral violence: "We do not believe in the politics of vengeance and hatred, so we appeal to the people to maintain peace and calm." In addition he asserted that "the word development does not exist in the dictionary of the CPI-M. Our government will provide good governance and time-bound implementation of all developmental works."


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Reactions
Former Chief Minister of Kerala and senior CPI(M) leader V. S. Achuthanandan called for the party's leadership to ally with "secular forces" to defeat the Sangh Parivar: "The country is facing serious challenges. The Congress, which had ruled for decades in the post-independence period, has become weaker now. He supported party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury's call for an "understanding" with the INC as "a tactical move with secular forces was necessary."


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Reactions
The party's provincial minister claimed that the BJP had "misused" money and power at the central government in winning the election and that the "challenge to the democracy and the national integrity." Another CPM figure M. V. Jayarajan, private secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, claimed that the INC voters and leaders were moving towards the BJP and that the result should "not be viewed lightly and all the patriots in the country have the responsibility to check and isolate any effort of the communal forces gaining strength in the country.


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Reactions
Politburo member M. A. Baby said that while the result was "unexpected", he did "respect the verdict of the people." He added: "However, there is a decline of 6-7 per cent vote share of the Left front. It's a concern...how the erosion has taken place and why this happened will be dispassionately examined by the party in Tripura and the national leadership."


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Reactions
It was suggested that in order to defeat the BJP, other opposition parties would have to unite.


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Charilam bypoll
Polling for the seat of Charilam was postponed to 12 March 2018 after the death of Communist Party of India (Marxist) incumbent candidate Ramendra Narayan Debbarma. The CPI(M) withdrew their candidate for the bypoll claiming that there was an increase in violence. This claim was refuted by BJP National Secretary Ram Madhav, who termed it as "bogus", and an attempt by the CPI(M) to hide their defeat.


2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, Charilam bypoll
Despite this, the CPI(M) candidate continued to be present on the ballot paper, and subsequently lost their deposit.


2018 Tro-Bro Léon
The 2018 Tro-Bro Léon was a one-day road cycling race that took place on 15 April 2018. It was the 35th edition of the Tro-Bro Léon and was rated as a 1.1 event as part of the 2018 UCI Europe Tour. It was also the eighth event of the 2018 French Road Cycling Cup.


2018 Tro-Bro Léon, Teams
Nineteen teams were invited to take part in the race. These included two UCI WorldTeams, eleven UCI Professional Continental teams and six UCI Continental teams.


2018 Trofej Umag
The 2018 Trofej Umag was the 6th edition of the Trofej Umag road cycling one day race. It was part of UCI Europe Tour in category 1.2.


2018 Trofej Umag, Teams
Thirty teams were invited to take part in the race. All of them were UCI Continental teams.


2018 Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio
The 2018 Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio was the 20th running of the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, a women's cycling race in Italy. It was the third event of the 2018 UCI Women's World Tour season and was held on 18 March 2017. The race started in Gavirate and finished in Cittiglio, on the outskirts of Lago Maggiore in Northwest Italy.


2018 Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio
Polish rider Kasia Niewiadoma won the race after a solo attack. A group of 20 riders was formed during the final lap, on the Colle del Casale, from which Niewiadoma broke clear at 8 km from the finish. She held her lead to claim her third World Tour win. Chantal Blaak won the sprint for second place at 23 seconds ahead of Marianne Vos.


2018 Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio, Teams
Twenty-four teams participated in the race. Each team had a maximum of six riders:


2018 Trofeo Faip–Perrel
The 2018 Trofeo Faip–Perrel was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the thirteenth edition of the tournament which was part of the 2018 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Bergamo, Italy between 19 and 25 February 2018.


2018 Trofeo Faip–Perrel, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 Trofeo Faip–Perrel, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry into the singles main draw as special exempts:


2018 Trofeo Faip–Perrel – Doubles
Julian Knowle and Adil Shamasdin were the defending champions but chose not to defend their title.


2018 Trofeo Faip–Perrel – Doubles
Scott Clayton and Jonny O'Mara won the title after defeating Laurynas Grigelis and Alessandro Motti 5–7, 6–3, [15–13] in the final.


2018 Trofeo Faip–Perrel – Singles
Jerzy Janowicz was the defending champion but chose not to defend his title.


2018 Trofeo Faip–Perrel – Singles
Matteo Berrettini won the title after defeating Stefano Napolitano 6–2, 3–6, 6–2 in the final.


2018 Trofeo Laigueglia
The 2018 Trofeo Laigueglia was a one-day road cycling race that took place on 11 February 2018 in and around Laigueglia, Italy. It was the 55th edition of the Trofeo Laigueglia and was rated as a 1.HC event as part of the 2018 UCI Europe Tour.


2018 Trofeo Laigueglia
The race was won by Moreno Moser, riding for an Italian national team select, accelerating 100 metres from the summit of the climb through the hilltop village of Colla Micheri to open a decisive gap. Second place went to Paolo Totò for the Sangemini–MG.K Vis Vega team, ahead of Wilier Triestina–Selle Italia's Matteo Busato.


2018 Trofeo Laigueglia, Teams
Twenty-two teams were invited to take part in the race. These included one UCI WorldTeam, thirteen UCI Professional Continental teams, seven UCI Continental teams and an Italian national team.


2018 Troféu Joaquim Agostinho
The 2018 Troféu Joaquim Agostinho–GP Internacional Torres Vedras was four-stage men's road cycling stage race that took place in the Centro region of Portugal between 12 and 15 July 2018. It was the 41st edition of the Troféu Joaquim Agostinho and was rated as a 2.2 event as part of the UCI Europe Tour.


2018 Tromsø IL season
The 2018 season was Tromsø's fourth season back in the Tippeligaen following their relegation at the end of the 2013 and their 31st season in the top flight of Norwegian football. Tromsø finished the season in 11th position and reached the Fourth Round of the Norwegian Cup where they were knocked out by Vålerenga .


2018 Tromsø IL season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Tromsø IL season, Squad, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Tromsø IL season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Tromsø IL season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Tromsø IL season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Tromsø IL season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Trophée des Champions
The 2018 Trophée des Champions (transl. 2018 Champions Trophy) was the 23rd edition of the French super cup. The match was contested by the 2017–18 Ligue 1 and Coupe de France champions Paris Saint-Germain, and the runners-up of Ligue 1, Monaco. The match was played at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre in Shenzhen, China.


2018 Trophée des Champions
The match was a rematch of the previous edition, in which PSG defeated Monaco 2–1.


2018 Trophée des Champions
Paris Saint-Germain won the match 4–0 for their sixth consecutive and eighth overall Trophée des Champions title.


2018 Troy Trojans football team
The 2018 Troy Trojans football team represented Troy University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Trojans played their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Alabama, and competed in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by fourth-year head coach Neal Brown. They finished the season 10–3, 7–1 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for the East Division championship with Appalachian State. Due to their head-to-head loss to Appalachian State, they did not represent the East Division in the Sun Belt Championship Game. They were invited to the Dollar General Bowl where they defeated Buffalo.


2018 Troy Trojans football team, Previous season
The Trojans finished the 2017 season 11–2, 7–1 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for the Sun Belt championship. They received an invitation to the New Orleans Bowl where they defeated North Texas.


2018 Troy Trojans football team, Preseason, Sun Belt coaches poll
On July 19, 2018, the Sun Belt released their preseason coaches poll with the Trojans predicted to finish in second place in the East Division.


2018 Troy Trojans football team, Preseason, Preseason All-Sun Belt Teams
The Trojans had ten players at eleven positions selected to the preseason all-Sun Belt teams.


2018 Trutnov by-election
A by-election for the Trutnov Senate seat in the Czech Republic was held over two rounds in January 2018. The first round was held on 5 and 6 January 2018, with the second round on 12 and 13 January. The front-runners in the election were Jan Sobotka, supported by right-wing parties, and Jiří Hlavatý, the candidate of ANO 2011. Both of these candidates qualified for the second round held on 12 and 13 January 2018, which was won by Sobotka with 67% of votes.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Background
Incumbent Senator Jiří Hlavatý stood in the 2017 legislative election and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. As a result, his mandate as a Senator ceased to exist. Hlavatý expressed his surprise, as he believed he would be able to choose which seat to take, and called the rule undemocratic and totalitarian.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Background
On 25 October 2017, Czech president Miloš Zeman announced that the first round of the by-election would be held on 5 and 6 January 2018.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Campaign
On 30 October 2017, Jan Sobotka announced his candidacy as the nominee of Mayors and Independents. He also received endorsements from TOP 09, the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party and the Civic Democratic Party. Hlavatý announced his candidacy on 2 November 2017. Jakub Dvorský announced his candidacy on 21 November 2017 as a candidate of the Czech Pirate Party.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Campaign
Communist Party candidate Iva Řezníčková was accused of defamation on 22 November 2017. Hlavatý held a public discussion with voters on 1 December 2017.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Campaign
Sobotka had four billboards put up within the district. He stated that his campaign would conclude with leaflets he would send to voters. Sobotka said that he wanted to maintain the status quo in the region.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Campaign
Terezie Holovská was rejected as a candidate by the Municipal Bureau of Trutnov. She appealed the decision in Court. The Regional Court decided that the rejection of her candidacy was illegal, and her nomination was reinstated.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Campaign
XTV held a debate between the candidates on 15 December 2017.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Campaign
The campaign concluded on 4 January 2018. Sobotka announced that his campaign had cost 400,000 CZK. Hlavatý estimated that his campaign had cost 500,000 CZK, while Karel Šklíba estimated the cost of his campaign at 140,000 CZK. Political scientists predicted that the election would be won by Jiří Hlavatý or Jan Sobotka. Sobotka is popular in Vrchlabí and its surroundings while Hlavatý is popular in Dvůr Králové nad Labem and its surroundings.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Campaign
The first round was held on 5 and 6 January 2018. Jan Sobotka received the highest number of votes, with Hlavatý second. Those two candidates faced each other in a run-off on 12 and 13 January. The turnout was very low. Sobotka said that he had expected the result. He said that he would hold meetings with voters and use social media for his campaign for the second round. Hlavatý's share of the vote fell 9% from the 2014 election, which he attributed to the media misquoting some things he had said. He stated that he would not campaign for the second round. Klára Sovová and Jaroslav Dvorský endorsed Jan Sobotka for the second round.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Campaign
Evaluating the first round results, political scientist Jiří Štefek noted that Hlavatý's result in the first round was lower than expected, and stated that Hlavatý should work harder on his campaign before the second round if he wanted to win. Another disappointing result was that of the Social Democratic candidate Šklíba, who had been considered a strong candidate but received only 6%. Štefek also commented on the result of Terezie Holovská, who had been a high-profile candidate due to her problems registering. Štefek said that Holovská had never had a chance since the beginning of the election.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Campaign
Sobotka was endorsed by four candidates prior to the second round: Klára Sovová, Jaroslav Dvorský, Karel Šklíba and Blanka Horáková. Hlavatý was endorse by Terezie Holovská. The second round will be held on 12 and 13 January 2018, alongside the first round of the presidential election. Sobotka defeated Hlavatý by a large margin in the second round held on 12 and 13 January 2018, receiving 67% of votes, with Hlavatý on 33% of votes.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Betting odds
Betting shops considered Jiří Hlavatý the front runner. His betting odds were 1:1.8, while his main rival Sobotka had 1:2.5 odds. Klára Sovová was considered the third strongest candidate, with odds of 1:5.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Aftermath
Sobotka was elected as Senator, to serve the rest of Hlavatý's term. Sobotka stated that he plans to focus on regional development. Hlavatý said he had congratulated Sobotka, and suggested that people had most likely decided that businessmen don't belong in politics. Hlavatý decided to leave politics after his defeat.


2018 Trutnov by-election, Aftermath
Political scientist Jiří Štefek stated that Hlavatý's defeat was caused by disappointment with Andrej Babiš, and the other parties' support for Sobotka.


2018 Tulane Green Wave football team
The 2018 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Green Wave played their home games at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, and competed in the West Division of the American Athletic Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Willie Fritz. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in AAC play to finish in a three way tie for the West Division championship. After tiebreakers, they did not represent the West Division in the AAC Championship Game. They were invited to the Cure Bowl where they defeated Louisiana to win their first bowl game since 2002.


2018 Tulane Green Wave football team, Previous season
The Green Wave finished the 2017 season 5–7, 3–5 in AAC play to finish in fifth place in the West Division.


2018 Tulane Green Wave football team, Preseason, AAC media poll
The AAC media poll was released on July 24, 2018, with the Green Wave predicted to finish in fifth place in the AAC West Division.


2018 Tulane Green Wave football team, Game summaries, at Tulsa
at Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium, Tulsa, OK


2018 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team
The 2018 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Hurricane played their home games at the Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and competed in the West Division of the American Athletic Conference. They were led by fourth-year head coach Philip Montgomery. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in American Athletic play to finish in a tie for fifth placein the West Division.


2018 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team, Previous season
The Golden Hurricane finished the 2017 season 2–10, 1–7 in AAC play to finish in last place in the West Division.


2018 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team, Preseason, AAC media poll
The AAC media poll was released on July 24, 2018, with the Golden Hurricane predicted to finish in last place in the AAC West Division.


2018 Tulsa Roughnecks FC season
The 2018 Tulsa Roughnecks FC season was the 4th season for Tulsa Roughnecks FC, now known as FC Tulsa, in the United Soccer League (USL), the second-tier professional soccer league in the United States and Canada.


2018 Tunbridge Wells Borough Council election
The 2018 Tunbridge Wells Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2018 to elect members of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2018 Tunis Open
The 2018 Tunis Open was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the tenth edition of the tournament which was part of the 2018 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Tunis, Tunisia between 16 and 22 April 2018.


2018 Tunis Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 Tunis Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry into the singles main draw as a special exempt:


2018 Tunis Open – Doubles
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Adil Shamasdin were the defending champions but only Shamasdin chose to defend his title, partnering Sander Arends. Shamasdin lost in the quarterfinals to Dennis Novak and Tristan-Samuel Weissborn.


2018 Tunis Open – Doubles
Denys Molchanov and Igor Zelenay won the title after defeating Jonathan Eysseric and Joe Salisbury 7–6(7–4), 6–2 in the final.


2018 Tunis Open – Singles
Simone Bolelli was the defending champion but chose not to defend his title.


2018 Tunis Open – Singles
Guido Andreozzi won the title after Daniel Gimeno Traver retired trailing 2–6, 0–3 in the final.


2018 Tunisian local elections
Local elections were held in Tunisia on 6 May 2018 under the supervision of the Independent High Authority for Elections. These were Tunisia's first free and democratic local elections following the Tunisian Revolution and saw unaffiliated independent lists win the most votes but on a very low turnout especially in terms of youth turnout which was down sharply.


2018 Tunisian protests
The 2018 Tunisian protests were a series of protests occurring throughout Tunisia. Beginning January 2018, protests erupted in multiple towns and cities across Tunisia over issues related to the cost of living and taxes. As of January 9, the demonstrations had claimed at least one life, and revived worries about the fragile political situation in Tunisia.


2018 Tunisian protests
The Popular Front, an alliance of leftist opposition parties, called for continued protests against the government's "unjust" austerity measures while Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed denounced the violence and appealed for calm, claiming that he and his government believe 2018 "would be the last difficult year for Tunisians".


2018 Tunisian protests, Background
After the 2011 Revolution, Tunisia was widely seen as the only democratic success story in the Arab Spring, a model "for democratic progress, with free elections and a modern constitution." However, the country has subsequently had nine governments, none of which were able to tackle the country's growing economic problems.


2018 Tunisian protests, Protests
The protests began in response to a new law that took effect on January 1, and raised taxes on gasoline, phone cards, housing, internet usage, hotel rooms and foods such as fruits and vegetables. Import duties on cosmetics and some agricultural products were also raised.


2018 Tunisian protests, Protests
Opposition leader Hamma Hammami stated that several opposition parties would meet in order to coordinate their efforts on Tuesday, January 9. The opposition then called for a mass protest to be held in the capital city of Tunis on 14 January to mark the seventh anniversary of the Arab Spring uprising which toppled President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.


2018 Tunisian protests, Protests
On 8 January a Jewish school on the Tunisian island of Djerba was firebombed, while there were no protests on the island, locals reported the assailants had exploited the fact that there was lower security presence as police were elsewhere dealing with the protestors.


2018 Tunisian protests, Protests
By the evening of 10 January over 2100 troops had been deployed to "protect sovereign institutions and vital facilities” such as "banks, post offices and other government buildings in the country's main cities" according to Defense Ministry spokesman Belhassen al-Waslati.


2018 Tunisian protests, Protests
On January 11, witnesses said that Tunisian protesters "burned down a regional national security headquarters near the Algerian border" as the government deployed security forces and said it will "not revise austerity measures in the 2018 budget."


2018 Tunisian protests, Late-2018 protests
Mass protests erupted, mostly by public sector workers, against the regime and its failure to keep the economy thriving in November 2018. Anti -government protests swelled from workers into a broader movement. The movement became popular within the nation. Workers demanded an end to police brutality, poverty and unemployment. University students protested with the workers demanding free education and better wages. Police tried to disperse the stone-throwers by tear gas and rubber bullets but police officials stopped using force and soon joined the demonstrations, demanding an end to the regime.


2018 Tunisian protests, Casualties
It was confirmed in a statement by the Ministry of the Interior on 8 January that a man had been admitted to a Tebourba hospital with symptoms of dizziness and later died. His body had shown no signs of violence and a forensic doctor has been tasked with determining the man's cause of death. The government stated that the likely cause was due to inhalation of tear gas. Five others were injured in the demonstrations according to a report published by Tunis Afrique Presse.


2018 Tunisian protests, Casualties
Interior ministry spokesman Khelifa Chibani said about 50 policemen were wounded and 237 people were arrested on 9 January. This was echoed by BBC which said on January 10 that "more than 200 people have been arrested" across the country, and at least 49 police officers injured "during clashes with demonstrators." As of January 12, 778 people had been arrested by police in response to the protests.


2018 Tunisian protests, Casualties
On January 12, the Spokesperson for OHCHR, Rupert Colville, said the United Nations is closely "watching the demonstrations across Tunisia and the authorities’ response to them" concerned about the "high number of arrests" and asserted that "authorities must ensure that those exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are not prevented from doing so." Mr. Colville added that "peaceful demonstrators must not be held responsible or penalised for the violent acts of others" and urged all "sides to work together towards resolving, with full respect for human rights, the economic and social problems underpinning the unrest."


2018 Tunisian protests, Responses
The governments of Britain, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Belgium have warned "their citizens about potential rioting" while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke with Tunisian leaders about the protests, saying he believed that when the country "stands united" Tunisia would "overcome its problems." The embassy of the United States in the country put out a statement as well, reminding U.S. citizens "residing in and visiting Tunisia to exercise caution, avoid demonstrations and crowds, and monitor local media for breaking events."


2018 Tunisian protests, Responses
Ennahdha, a party in the governing coalition of Tunisia condemned the "exploitation of citizens' legitimate demands by certain anarchist groups" and stressed "the legitimacy of demands for development and employment and citizens' full right to peaceful protest without violating the safety of others or attacking private and public property" while the opposition alliance, Popular Front, called for "all Tunisian people [to] go out to the streets for a peaceful protests country wide for one clear goal, which is to bring down these actions that destroyed the Tunisian country and its people." The Prime Minister of Tunisia also condemned the "vandalism" of protesters and claimed that while the country is "having difficulties...we believe that 2018 will be the last difficult year for the Tunisians."


2018 Tunisian protests, Responses
The Trotskyist WSWS, a website supportive of the protests, argued that in Tunisia, like Egypt, elements of the old regime "managed to reconsolidate power in the interests of the native ruling elites and international capital," further saying that the reforms imposed by the government are pushed to "meet the conditions demanded by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union." Other supportive websites said that these "brave Tunisians...[are] courageous people rebelling long into the night [who] will continue on with or without our support."


2018 Turkey rail accident
There were two major rail accidents in Turkey in 2018:


2018 Turkish Basketball Cup
The 2018 Turkish Basketball Cup (Turkish: Basketbol Erkekler Türkiye Kupası 2018) was the 33rd edition of the national cup competition for men's basketball teams in Turkey. The tournament was held from 14–18 February 2018 at the Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey. Anadolu Efes won their 11th title.


2018 Turkish Basketball Cup, Qualified teams
After the first half of the 2017–18 Basketbol Süper Ligi the top eight teams qualified for the tournament. The four highest placed teams played the lowest seeded teams in the quarter-finals.


2018 Turkish Basketball Presidential Cup
The 2018 Turkish Basketball Presidential Cup (Turkish: 2018 Erkekler Basketbol Cumhurbaşkanlığı Kupası) was the 34th edition of the Turkish Basketball Presidential Cup. The game was played between Fenerbahçe Doğuş, champions of the 2017–18 Basketbol Süper Ligi, and Anadolu Efes, the winners of the 2018 Turkish Cup.


2018 Turkish Basketball Presidential Cup
Anadolu Efes made their 22nd appearance and won their 11th championship, while this was Fenerbahçe's 15th President's Cup final.


2018 Turkish Basketball Presidential Cup, Match details
Doğuş Balbay, who had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the game, was named the Presidential Cup MVP.


2018 Turkish Parliament Speaker election
The Turkish Parliament Speaker election of 2018 took place on 12 July 2018 to elect the 28th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly, who will serve for the first three years of the 27th Parliament of Turkey. With 7 parties represented in the 27th Parliament, the speaker was expected to be elected in the third round, as no party or electoral bloc had the necessary two-thirds majority to elect their candidate outright.


2018 Turkish Parliament Speaker election
The Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate Binali Yıldırım was elected in the third round with support from the Nationalist Movement Party, winning 335 votes.


2018 Turkish Parliament Speaker election, Procedure, Electoral conduct
Following the official opening of Parliament, the oldest Member of Parliament presides over the swearing-in session and the speaker election as acting speaker. For the 27th Parliament, the oldest Member of Parliament was Deniz Baykal, of the electoral district of Antalya. However due to Baykal's ill health, the position passed onto the next oldest member, İYİ Party MP Durmuş Yılmaz (age 71).


2018 Turkish Parliament Speaker election, Procedure, Electoral system
The Speaker of the Grand National Assembly is elected in a maximum of four rounds. In the first two rounds, a two-thirds majority is sought for outright election, requiring at least 400 out of the possible 600 votes. In the third round, a simple majority is necessary for election, requiring the votes of at least 301 MPs. If no candidate wins a simple majority, often the case when there is a hung parliament, a final round is held where all but the two candidates with the highest votes in the third round are eliminated. The remaining two candidates participate in a run-off, with the candidate winning the most votes being elected.


2018 Turkish Parliament Speaker election, Procedure, Term length
At the start of the five-year parliament, the speaker is elected for a three-year term. A second election will be held in 2021 to determine the speaker for the remaining two years.


2018 Turkish Parliament Speaker election, Candidates
The Justice and Development Party (AKP) announced former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım as their candidate on 7 July. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which is part of the People's Alliance with the AKP, announced that it would support the AKP's candidate. The MHP has 49 MPs in parliament, which would allow the AKP's candidate to be elected in the third round.


2018 Turkish Parliament Speaker election, Candidates
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) announced Erdoğan Toprak, of İstanbul's third electoral district, as their candidate on 11 July.


2018 Turkish Parliament Speaker election, Candidates
The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) announced Meral Danış Beştaş, of the electoral district of Adana as their candidate.


2018 Turkish Parliament Speaker election, Candidates
The İYİ Party candidate was initially speculated to be Durmuş Yılmaz, the serving acting speaker, but was later announced officially as Hayrettin Nuhoğlu of İstanbul's third electoral district on 11 July.


2018 Turkish Parliament Speaker election, Candidates
Out of the two Felicity Party candidates that were elected through the CHP's lists, Cihangir İslam also put forward his candidacy.


2018 Turkish Super Cup
The 2018 Turkish Super Cup (Turkish: TFF Süper Kupa) was the 45th edition of the Turkish Super Cup since its establishment as Presidential Cup in 1966, the annual Turkish football season-opening match contested by the winners of the previous season's top league and cup competitions (or cup runner-up in case the league- and cup-winning club is the same). It was played on 5 August 2018 between the champions of the 2017–18 Süper Lig, Galatasaray, and the winners of the 2017–18 Turkish Cup, Akhisarspor.


2018 Turkish Women's Cup
The 2018 Turkish Women's Cup was the second edition of the Turkish Women's Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Turkey. It took place from 27 February to 7 March 2018.


2018 Turkish Women's Cup, Format
The twelve invited teams were split into three groups to play a round-robin tournament. Points awarded in the group stage follow the standard formula of three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss. In the case of two teams being tied on the same number of points in a group, their head-to-head result determine the higher place.


2018 Turkish Women's Cup, Group stage
The groups and schedule were announced on 22 February 2018.


2018 Turkish general election
General elections were held throughout Turkey on 24 June 2018. Originally due on 3 November 2019, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on 18 April 2018 that the vote was being brought forward. Presidential elections were held to elect the President of Turkey using a two-round system. Parliamentary elections took place to elect 600 Members of Parliament to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.


2018 Turkish general election, Background, 2017 constitutional referendum
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Erdoğan had long supported a policy of turning Turkey into an executive presidency, replacing the existing parliamentary system of government. With the support of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the government was able to enact a referendum in Parliament, with the vote being set for 16 April 2017.


2018 Turkish general election, Background, 2017 constitutional referendum
The proposed constitutional changes would see parliamentary and presidential elections taking place on the same day every five years, with the initial vote being set for 3 November 2019. The number of seats in the Grand National Assembly was to be increased from 550 to 600, although the legislative powers of Parliament would be greatly reduced. Crucially, the office of the President of Turkey would be given powers to rule by decree, becoming both the country's head of state and head of government. Supporters of the changes claimed that the new system would make the system of government more efficient, while critics claimed that it would place too much power in the hands of the president and effectively render parliament powerless.


2018 Turkish general election, Background, 2017 constitutional referendum
The constitutional changes were approved by a 51-49% margin, according to official results. However, a last-minute change in the election rules by the Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) during the vote allowed unverified ballots to be accommodated into the count, which the opposition alleges added 1.5 million extra ballot papers. The political opposition decried the move to be illegal and were backed by several overseas observer organisations, which claimed that the vote did not meet international standards. However, subsequent legal challenges were all unsuccessful. Thus, the government began enacting 'compliance laws' to prepare for the new executive presidential system of government, which would be fully implemented following the general election scheduled for 3 November 2019.


2018 Turkish general election, Background, Early election
Despite over two years to go before the next presidential and parliamentary elections, many observers alleged that the government was preparing for an early vote soon after the 2017 referendum. This was, observers claimed, to speed up the implementation of the executive presidential system and also to prevent the popularity of new opposition movements from reducing support for the government. In October 2017, opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu called for early elections, although there was no official response to this.


2018 Turkish general election, Background, Early election
Meral Akşener, the leader of the newly formed İyi Party, alleged that the government were planning an early vote for Sunday 15 July 2018, the second anniversary of the failed 2016 coup d'état attempt. The party held its first ordinary congress on 10 December 2017 and first extraordinary congress on 1 April 2018 in order to be eligible to contest a possible snap election. Despite months of speculation, the government repeatedly claimed that it was in favour of holding elections when they were due, denying that an early vote would take place.


2018 Turkish general election, Background, Early election
On 17 April 2018, Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, called for early elections for the 26th of August. Bahçeli had previously announced that they would support a re-election bid of the incumbent president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by Erdoğan, had recently announced an electoral alliance with the MHP called the People's Alliance. Following his call for early elections, Bahçeli met Erdoğan a day later on 18 April. Erdoğan subsequently announced that his party agreed with Bahçeli that an early election was needed to solve the ongoing 'political and economic uncertainty'. He therefore announced that early elections would take place on 24 June 2018.


2018 Turkish general election, Controversies
The election process was overshadowed many multiple allegations of violations of its integrity. Prominent among them was the allegation of widespread ballot stuffing for the benefit of AKP and MHP parties in Turkey's east, in particular in Şanlıurfa province.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election
The 2018 Turkish parliamentary election took place on 24 June 2018 as part of the 2018 Turkish general election, with a presidential election taking place on the same day. Originally scheduled for 3 November 2019, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called a snap election on 18 April after months of speculation. With the passage of a series of constitutional amendments in the 2017 referendum, the number of MPs will be increased from the previous 550 to 600. These representatives will be elected by the constituents of the 87 electoral districts of Turkey by party-list proportional representation.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election
The referendum in 2017 triggered Turkey's transition from a parliamentary to an executive presidential system. As such, the Grand National Assembly will not be entitled to appoint the country's prime minister and cabinet after the 2018 elections. While the office of the Prime Minister of Turkey is set to be abolished altogether, cabinet ministers will primarily serve at the pleasure of the President of Turkey, who is to fill the role of both head of state and head of government.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Background, Elections of 2015
After the elections of June 2015 resulted in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) losing its majority, the four parties in the Grand National Assembly were faced with the prospect of a coalition government. However, after government formation talks broke down, early elections were called for November 2015. The snap election saw the AKP regain its absolute parliamentary majority with 317 of 550 seats. The remainder went to the Republican People's Party (CHP) on 134 seats, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on 59, and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on 40.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Background, Elections of 2015
The results of the November 2015 elections allowed the AKP to form a single-party government under its leader Ahmet Davutoğlu, but not to change the constitution or call a referendum, which would have required two-thirds or three-fifths majorities, respectively. As such, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was left nominally unable to trigger a switch from a parliamentary to a presidential system, as his AKP had campaigned for ahead of the elections. Additionally, he faced opposition on the matter from Prime Minister Davutoğlu, who allegedly held reservations over a change in form of government. In May 2016, Davutoğlu resigned from both the AKP leadership and the premiership, citing disagreements with Erdoğan as part of the reason. He was replaced in both capacities by Binali Yıldırım.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Background, Coup attempt and state of emergency
On 15 July 2016, sections of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) launched a coup d'état against the Turkish government, including the ruling AKP government of Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Military jets were reportedly spotted flying over Ankara just before 23:00 EEST (UTC+3), while both the Fatih Sultan Mehmet and Bosphorus bridges in Istanbul were closed by the armed forces. In a televised address on the TRT station, the coup plotters, who referred to themselves as the Peace at Home Council (Turkish: Yurtta Sulh Konseyi), claimed that "The government ... [ had] been dismissed from office".


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Background, Coup attempt and state of emergency
However, the coup attempt ultimately failed, after President Erdoğan addressed the Turkish people through the FaceTime mobile application, urging them to resist the coup plotters. By the morning of 16 July 2016, the situation had reportedly been brought under control, while the Turkish government accused the Gülen movement of having orchestrated the putsch, and vowed to purge state institutions of its members. On 15 July 2016, Erdoğan announced the introduction of a three-month state of emergency.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Background, Coup attempt and state of emergency
Under Turkish law, states of emergency may only be upheld for three months at a time, though they may be renewed an unlimited number of times by parliamentary vote. The post-coup state of emergency in Turkey has been extended seven times, and were officially lifted on the 19th of July, although observers criticized the administration as "nothing much changed", with one in particular noting "Although the lifting of the state of emergency is symbolically positive, in that the clampdown we saw after the coup has come to an end... I’m not sure this is going to make a very big difference". The elections of June 2018 are likely to take place under the ongoing state of emergency.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Electoral system
The 600 members of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey will be elected by party-list proportional representation in 87 electoral districts, by the D'Hondt method. For the purpose of legislative elections, 77 of Turkey's 81 provinces serves as a single district. Due to their large populations, the provinces of Bursa and İzmir are divided into two districts, while the provinces of Ankara and İstanbul are each divided into three.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Electoral system
Since the introduction of Turkey's Constitution of 1982, political parties are required to pass an electoral threshold of 10% of the nationwide popular vote in order to obtain seats in parliament, with all those falling below the threshold disregarded for seat distribution purposes. Furthermore, parties must be officially organised in at least half of provinces (41 or more) and in at least a third of districts in those provinces, and must nominate two candidates in 41 or more provinces, in order to be entitled to seats.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Electoral system, Electoral alliances law
In early 2018, the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the far-right opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) brought forward joint proposals for an electoral alliance law. This was widely speculated to be a result of the MHP's low poll ratings, which made it seemingly impossible to surpass the 10% threshold and win seats in future elections. The MHP had previously announced that it would support the re-election of AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the Presidency, and claimed it was open to contesting future parliamentary elections in an alliance with the AKP.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Electoral system, Electoral alliances law
The new electoral alliances law allowed parties to form alliances and submit them to the YSK, meaning that they would be grouped together under their alliance name on the ballot paper. In addition, voters would be given the option to vote for the alliance as a whole if they did not prefer a specific party. Votes cast for alliances rather than parties would then be distributed to each member party of the alliance at electoral district-level depending on their vote shares.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Electoral system, Electoral alliances law
For example, if Party A and Party B were in an alliance and received 60 and 40 votes in an electoral district respectively, then 60% of votes cast for the alliance as a whole would be given to Party A while 40% would be given to Party B. Thus, if 10 votes were cast for the alliance, Party A would have a total of 66 (60+6) votes and Party B would have 44 (40+4) votes.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Electoral system, Electoral alliances law
Parties contesting the election within an alliance would not be subject to the 10% threshold. As long as the Alliance in total won above 10% of the national vote, any party within it would be eligible to win seats regardless of how low their vote share.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Electoral system, Electoral alliances law
The election alliance law also contained numerous controversial changes to election law, including the legalisation of unverified ballot papers to be incorporated in the count. The issue of counting unverified ballots caused a huge controversy during the 2017 constitutional referendum, causing the opposition to allege large-scale electoral fraud and reject the results. On 31 May, the Constitutional Court of Turkey rejected the opposition's bid to nullify the controversial changes.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Electoral system, Electoral districts, Changes since 2015
Following the 2017 constitutional referendum, the number of parliamentary seats was increased from 550 to 600. As a result, most electoral districts saw an increase in their number of seats in comparison to distribution at the November 2015 general election. The following tables show the changes, as announced by the Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey (YSK).


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Electoral system, Electoral districts, Changes since 2015
The seat distribution revisions meant that there was one single-member constituency, namely that of Bayburt. This essentially meant that the election in Bayburt, the only province-wide electoral district to lose seats following the re-distribution, will be conducted by first-past-the-post.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Alliances
Following the approval of an election alliance law in early 2018, parties were given the ability to contest the election under formal alliances as a means of jointly surpassing the election threshold. A total of 5 parties decided to form two alliances by the 6 May deadline, with a further two parties contesting the election under the lists of these parties.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Alliances, People's Alliance
On 20 February 2018, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan formally announced the establishment of the People's Alliance (Turkish: Cumhur İttifakı) between his Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The MHP had previously announced that it would support Erdoğan's re-election and was open to contest future elections under the AKP banner, which was largely seen as the main reason for the electoral alliances law to be passed in the first place. On 3 May, the Great Unity Party (BBP) joined the People's Alliance and announced that it would contest the elections under the AKP banner.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Alliances, People's Alliance
The People's Alliance is both a parliamentary and a presidential alliance, although one of its supporters, namely the Free Cause Party (HÜDA-PAR) only supports the Alliance in the presidential election while contesting the parliamentary election as a stand-alone party.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Alliances, Nation Alliance
The Nation Alliance is an opposition alliance launched on 1 May 2018 in rival to the People's Alliance. The alliance is formed of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), the newly formed nationalist İyi Party, the Islamist Felicity Party and the centre-right Democrat Party. The formation of the alliance was criticised by the People's Alliance for being an alliance of 'non-conformists', citing the secular ideology of the CHP in rival to the Islamist-orientated Felicity Party. However, the Alliance crucially removed the 10% threshold condition for the Felicity Party, which had at the previous election won 0.68% of the vote.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Alliances, Nation Alliance
This meant that many Islamist leaning voters, which had previously voted for the AKP in order to not waste their vote, could now vote for the Felicity Party due to its presence in an alliance that is polling above 10% altogether. The four parties were unable to agree on a joint presidential candidate despite speculation over the joint nomination of former president Abdullah Gül. Thus, each party ended up nominating their own candidate for the presidential election.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Alliances, Nation Alliance
The inclusion of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was a widely discussed possibility, with the HDP openly calling for its inclusion. Since the HDP is polling very close to the 10% threshold, its ultimate exclusion was criticised by many. The main reason for the HDP's exclusion was seen to be their unclear association with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist organisation.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Alliances, Other speculated alliances
Following the HDP's exclusion from the Nation Alliance, it was speculated that the HDP and the Free Cause Party (HÜDA-PAR), an Islamist orientated far-right Kurdish party, could form a broad 'Kurdish alliance'. The alliance was ultimately rejected by the HDP, citing that their left-leaning voter base was not ready for an alliance with a far-right party.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Alliances, Other speculated alliances
It was speculated early on, before the formation of the Nation Alliance, that every party besides those within the People's Alliance could come together under a broad tactical alliance in order to effectively nullify the 10% threshold. The 'zero threshold alliance' would have consisted of as many parties as possible, despite their differences, purely for tactical reasons.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Parties, Party leadership elections
Before the elections, a number of contesting parties held leadership elections to determine who would lead their party into the next elections. Although most of these leadership elections took place before the snap elections were called, they all determined the leaders that lead their respective parties through and beyond 3 November 2019, which was the original scheduled date of the election.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Parties, Party leadership elections
The Republican People's Party (CHP) held its 36th Ordinary Convention on 3 and 4 February 2018. Incumbent leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was re-elected leader with 64% of the delegates' vote. He was challenged by Muharrem İnce, who received the remaining 36%. The convention became known for its poor organisation and irregularities during the candidate nomination process, with İnce subsequently alleging foul play in the ensuring election.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Parties, Party leadership elections
The İyi Party held its extraordinary congress on 1 April 2018 as part of its preparations for the then-scheduled 2019 elections. The congress was held as a result of negotiations with the Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey (YSK) over whether the party would be eligible to contest future elections, which had resulted in the YSK claiming that the party had not yet completed all its provincial congresses. The party's leader and presidential candidate Meral Akşener was re-elected unanimously with 1,060 votes.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Parties, Party leadership elections
The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) held its 3rd ordinary congress on 11 February 2018 to elect both a chairman and a chairwoman. The party's previous chairman, Selahattin Demirtaş, was imprisoned at the time and announced that he would not run again for the chairmanship. The party's serving chairwoman Serpil Kemalbay, elected in the 3rd Extraordinary Congress in 2017 to replace imprisoned chairwoman Figen Yüksekdağ, decided to not run again. As a result, Sezai Temelli and Pervin Buldan were elected chairman and chairwoman respectively, with 823 votes.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Parties, Party leadership elections
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) held its 12th ordinary congress on 18 March 2018. Incumbent leader Devlet Bahçeli, who had been leader since 1997, was re-elected unopposed with 1,167 votes. The MHP had undergone a turbulent congress dispute in 2016, with many dissidents unhappy with Bahçeli's leadership aiming to hold an extraordinary congress, resulting in a legal battle between the MHP executive and dissident leadership candidates. The dispute resulted in the MHP executive winning the legal battle, allegedly with the covert help of the Ministry of Justice, with most of the dissidents subsequently being expelled.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Parties, İyi Party controversy
The İyi Party, formed on 25 October 2017, was subject to wide speculation over whether it would be eligible to contest the elections. It was speculated that the AKP and MHP purposefully chose the date of 24 June to prevent İyi from contesting the election, as it was previously announced by İyi General Secretary Aytun Çıray that the party would be eligible to contest any election as of 28 June.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Parties, İyi Party controversy
The claim was later revealed to be a deliberate lie, with Çıray later claiming that the correct date was 10 June (six months after their ordinary congress) and that he purposefully gave a misleading date to fool the AKP. Conflicting rumours were then reported that the AKP had proposed a change in the law that would guarantee that İyi would stand in order to prevent a loss of support for perceived undemocratic practices, although the proposal was blocked by the MHP. Both parties denied the reports, and blamed the İyi Party for incompetence in the event that it was found to be eligible to contest the election.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Parties, İyi Party controversy
The Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) initially announced that it did not know whether İyi could participate, as the Court of Cassation was responsible for analysing the eligible parties. On 21 April, the Court announced that İyi was eligible. However, the YSK refused to ratify the announcement, causing accusations by the opposition that the government was trying to prevent İyi from running.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Parties, İyi Party controversy
On 22 April, 15 Republican People's Party (CHP) MPs resigned and joined the İyi Party at the request of CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, thereby allowing İyi to form a parliamentary group and guaranteeing them eligibility to run in the election. The YSK announced that İyi would be able to run in the elections on 23 April.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Parties, Contesting parties
The table below shows the 8 of the 11 eligible parties that submitted candidate lists to the Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) before the 21 May 17:00 deadline, thereby contesting the election. The table shows the parties and alliances in the order they will appear on the ballot paper.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Parties, Eligible parties
The below table shows the remaining 3 of the 11 eligible parties that were eligible to contest the election but decided not to field candidates.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Endorsements
Several non-governmental organisations and parties not eligible to contest the election announced their support for specific parties or alliances throughout the election campaign.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Campaign, İyi Party
İyi is using "Türkiye iyi olacak" (Turkish: Turkey will be good) slogan for the elections. They promise to re-open Wikipedia after a year-long ban.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, MPs standing down
According to recent constitutional changes, presidential candidates cannot be MPs. As a result, Muharrem İnce and Selahattin Demirtaş stood down. In addition, MPs cannot be ministers in the new cabinet. Several current MPs from AKP are rumoured to be reserved for ministerial positions, thus not nominated.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Controversies
The election process was overshadowed by multiple allegations of violations of its integrity. Prominent among them was the allegation of widespread ballot stuffing for the benefit of AKP and MHP parties in Turkey's east, in particular in Şanlıurfa province.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Controversies
During a leaked speech of a private meeting with AKP officials in early June, Erdogan ordered them to go in great number as official representatives in voting locations as to be the majority and seize control of the ballot boxes, ensuring that the "work there would be finished before it even started". He also ordered them to target HDP voters with the help of AKP local officials who he assured them would be in possession of voters lists to help with their "special work". All this in order to ensure HDP would fail below the 10% quorum, which would greatly help AKP and prevent a repeat of the "7 june experience". The video have been negatively commented by opposition candidates.


2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Controversies
On 14 June, 4 to 5 people were killed in Suruc, a predominantly Turkish-Kurds town, following AKP touring of the local market.


2018 Turkish presidential election
The 2018 Turkish presidential election took place on 24 June 2018 as part of the 2018 general election, alongside parliamentary elections on the same day. Following the approval of constitutional changes in a referendum held in 2017, the elected President will be both the head of state and head of government of Turkey, taking over the latter role from the to-be-abolished office of the Prime Minister.


2018 Turkish presidential election
The election was originally scheduled for November 2019. Despite insistence from the government that they would not be brought forward, speculation over an early vote continued since the 2017 referendum. After calls from Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahçeli for a snap election, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on 18 April 2018 that it would take place on 24 June.


2018 Turkish presidential election
Incumbent president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared his candidacy for the People's Alliance (Turkish: Cumhur İttifakı) on 27 April 2018. Erdoğan’s main opposition, the Republican People's Party, nominated Muharrem İnce, a member of the parliament known for his combative opposition and spirited speeches against Erdoğan. The Peoples' Democratic Party nominated the imprisoned ex-chairman Selahattin Demirtaş. Besides these candidates, Meral Akşener, the founder and leader of İyi Party, Temel Karamollaoğlu, the leader of the Felicity Party and Doğu Perinçek, the leader of the Patriotic Party, have announced their candidacies and collected the 100,000 signatures required for nomination.


2018 Turkish presidential election
Campaigning for the election centred mainly on the faltering Turkish economy and the currency and debt crisis, with both government and opposition commentators warning of a more serious economic crisis following the election. The 2018 Gaza border protests, following the United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, along with the Turkish military operation in Afrin, were also featured in the campaign.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Electoral system
The President of Turkey is directly elected through the two-round system, under which a candidate must obtain at least 50%+1 of the popular vote in order to be elected. If no candidate secures an overall majority outright, then a runoff is held between the two most voted-for candidates from the first round, the winner of which is then declared elected. The first direct election to the Turkish presidency was held in 2014, after a referendum in 2007 abolished the previous system under which the head of state was elected by the legislature, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The President of Turkey is subject to term limits, and may serve at most two consecutive five-year terms.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Electoral system
Prospective presidential candidates must be at least 40 years old and must have completed higher education. Any political party that has won 5% of the vote in the previous parliamentary election can put forward a candidate, although parties that have not met this threshold can form alliances and field joint candidates as long as their total vote share exceeds 5%. Independents can run if they collect 100,000 signatures from the electorate.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Electoral system
An estimate released in July 2017 predicted that collecting 100,000 signatures to stand for election could exceed ₺15 million (US$4.2 million) in costs, if each individual signature would require certification by a notary. However, the Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey (YSK) announced that signature collection would occur between 4 and 9 May, with voters having to submit their nominations at their local electoral council branch.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Electoral system
Based on the results of the previous general election in November 2015, only the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Republican People's Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) are eligible to field candidates for the presidential election. The remaining parties combined received under 3% of the vote and are thus unable to field either a joint candidate or a candidate in their own right. In addition to past election results, parties which have a parliamentary group can nominate a candidate.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Electoral system
Thus, the newly formed İyi Party was also eligible to nominate their candidate, since 15 CHP members of parliament defected to them with the intention of allowing the party to form a parliamentary group. However, İyi Party leader and presidential candidates Meral Akşener insisted on being nominated by collecting signatures rather than through parliament.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Candidates, Official candidates
The Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) formally announced the candidates on 13 May.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Candidates, Selection process
In the run-up to the election, various parties underwent a candidate selection process to nominate presidential candidates.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Candidates, Selection process, People's Alliance (AKP and MHP)
Serving president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was widely seen as the undisputed candidate of the People's Alliance, an alliance set up by the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). This was confirmed by MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli on 21 April 2018. The AKP parliamentary group voted unanimously to nominate Erdoğan on 3 May.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Candidates, Selection process, Republican People's Party (CHP)
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) began a wide search for a candidate, with several rumours that the party was content with supporting a cross-party candidate that was not necessarily in line with the party's values as part of an election alliance. CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu subsequently conducted several meetings with the leaders of the Felicity Party and the İyi Party. Former President Abdullah Gül was mentioned as a cross-party option, allegedly receiving the support of senior officials, but was disbanded following heavy opposition from the lower ranks and voters.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Candidates, Selection process, Republican People's Party (CHP)
Gül eventually announced that he would not stand, citing the lack of cross-party consensus. Despite ruling it out several times, party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was frequently mentioned as a potential candidate, along with Yılmaz Büyükerşen, İlhan Kesici, Muharrem İnce and Mehmet Haberal. Certain MPs, such as Öztürk Yılmaz and Didem Engin also publicly declared their interest. On 26 April, CHP MP Özgür Özel, himself seen as a potential candidate, announced that their nominee would be one who would make the AKP 'crazy' the most. On 4 May, Yalova MP Muharrem İnce was declared the party's candidate.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Candidates, Selection process, Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)
The HDP nominated Selahattin Demirtaş, their former leader who was also the HDP's candidate in 2014, on 4 May. It was reported that the party executive had broadly agreed on Demirtaş earlier, raising concern that his preventative detention since 2016 could potentially bar him from running. Originally due in court on 11 April, Demirtaş's trial for charges of 'spreading terrorist propaganda' was delayed to 30 April, and then again to 8 June. His candidacy was announced as a part of a 'broad coalition of Kurdish and left-wing parties'. His lawyers and HDP officials claimed that his detention wouldn't affect his candidacy. In his first message after announcing his candidacy, he called on his supporters to be his 'hands and arms' during the campaign.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Candidates, Selection process, İyi Party
Upon announcing the İyi Party's establishment on 25 October 2017, party leader Meral Akşener announced that she would be a candidate in the presidential election. She reaffirmed her candidacy on 18 April 2018, shortly after the election was called. The party subsequently received pressure from the CHP and the Felicity Party (SP) to enter a joint alliance and support a cross-party candidate, with the SP supporting Abdullah Gül. Akşener refused to withdraw her candidacy, with the party's General Administration Council voting unanimously to nominate her as their party candidate on 24 April 2018.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Candidates, Selection process, Felicity Party (SP)
In the run-up to the election, SP leader Temel Karamollaoğlu managed to carry his party to the mainstream media following a number of speeches where he heavily criticised the government. This led to the SP being regarded as a potential kingmaker in future alliances, causing several larger parties to approach Karamollaoğlu in a bid to field a joint candidate. Although this led to the Nation Alliance being established between the SP, CHP and the İyi Party, no consensus was reached on a joint presidential candidate and each party decided to nominate their own. The SP polled their members on four potential candidates, namely Karamollaoğlu, Abdullah Gül, Haşim Kılıç and Abdüllatif Şener. Karamollaoğlu was announced as the party's candidate on 1 May.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Candidates, Selection process, Others
The left-wing Patriotic Party declared their leader Doğu Perinçek as their candidate. As part of a triple alliance of small centre-right parties consisting of the Motherland Party (ANAP), the True Path Party (DYP) and the Justice Party (AP), the AP's leader Vecdet Öz was nominated as a joint candidate. As independents, journalist Levent Gültekin and Tuna Bekleviç declared their intentions to run.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Candidates, Nominations
The Constitution of Turkey, amended following the controversial 2017 constitutional referendum, allows any party with a parliamentary group (at least 20 MPs) to nominate a presidential candidate. This meant that the AKP, CHP, HDP, MHP and technically the İyi Party were eligible to automatically nominate candidates through parliament. Meral Akşener, the İyi Party's leader and presidential candidate, opted to be nominated through signatures instead. The MHP, as part of the People's Alliance, did not field a candidate and announced support for the AKP candidate Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The CHP formally nominated Muharrem İnce and the HDP nominated Selahattin Demirtaş. The remaining candidates were required to collect at least 100,000 signatures.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Candidates, Nominations
Voters were able to give signatures to their preferred presidential candidate between 4 May and 9 May at their local electoral council branch. They were only permitted to nominate one candidate. The number of signatures needed to formally become a candidate was 100,000. Seven candidates applied to the YSK to seek nomination by signatures, with three applications being rejected due to insufficient paperwork. As a result, the remaining four successful applicants were as follows.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Candidates, Nominations
Voters abroad were not eligible to give signatures, prompting Perinçek to appeal to the Constitutional Court, arguing that the YSK had violated the rights of Turkish citizens abroad. Overseas citizens were, however, allowed to send a signed declaration by post to their local electoral council in Turkey. Only 72 overseas citizens did so, with 17 signing for Akşener, 18 signing for Karamollaoğlu, 35 signing for Perinçek and no signatures for Öz.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Campaign, Erdoğan campaign
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, incumbent President of Turkey since 2014, was officially nominated as the presidential candidate of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) on 3 May 2018. Shortly thereafter, the nominally oppositional Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) reiterated that it would endorse Erdoğan's candidacy, and would jointly apply to the electoral commission for its formal registration. In early May, it was confirmed by Erdoğan that he would be visiting the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo in the early stages of the campaign, most likely on 20 May 2018, and hold campaign rallies with the Bosnian Turks to drum up support for his re-election bid.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Campaign, İnce campaign
Muharrem İnce, a member of parliament for Yalova, was announced as the presidential candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP) on 3 May 2018. On the following day, 4 May, party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu formally proclaimed the CHP's support for İnce. Shortly thereafter, the CHP began preparations for the campaign season, launching the production of campaign material and merchandise. It was revealed in early May that İnce's campaign would adopt the slogan "Türkiye'ye güvence Muharrem İnce", roughly translating to "Muharrem İnce, an assurance to Turkey", and that it would be kicked off with an election rally in his home city of Yalova on 5 May.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Campaign, Demirtaş campaign
Selahattin Demirtaş was officially announced as the candidate of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) on 4 May 2018, after members of the party had hinted at his candidacy weeks in advance. Party leader Pervin Buldan declared that Demirtaş, a jailed former co-chair of the HDP, would be leading a five-party "Kurdish alliance" into the general election.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Campaign, Akşener campaign
Meral Akşener was nominated as the candidate of the İyi Party on 4 May 2018, after she had successfully collected the 100,000 signatures required for minor party candidates to gain ballot access. Reportedly, she passed this threshold less than four hours after having launched her signature collection campaign.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Campaign, Karamollaoğlu campaign
Temel Karamollaoğlu was nominated as the candidate of the Felicity Party (SP) on 6 May 2018, after he had successfully collected the 100,000 signatures required for minor party candidates to gain ballot access. Karamollaoğlu's campaign adopted the slogan "Türkiye'ye bilge başkan" ("A wise leader for Turkey").


2018 Turkish presidential election, Campaign, Perinçek campaign
Doğu Perinçek was nominated as the candidate of the VATAN Party on 9 May 2018, after he had successfully collected the 100,000 signatures required for minor party candidates to gain ballot access.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Controversies, State of emergency
On 20 July 2016, five days after an attempted coup, the government declared a state of emergency (Turkish: Olağanüstü Hal, OHAL), allowing ministers to rule the country by decree, bypassing parliament and limiting certain civil freedoms. The government have frequently been criticised for violating the constitutional limits of a state of emergency, using it as an excuse for governing without any political opposition. Since 2016, the state of emergency has been extended for the sixth time, with parliament voting to extend it by a further three months on 18 January 2018. The extension led to speculation that the election would occur under state of emergency conditions, similar to the controversial 2017 constitutional referendum.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Controversies, State of emergency
Heather Nauert, the Spokesperson for the United States Department of State and acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, issued a statement on 20 April citing 'concern' for whether free and fair elections would be possible under a state of emergency. On 24 April, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued a statement calling for the elections to be delayed, declaring that they would not meet European standards or be held in a democratic manner. Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, also issued a statement calling for the state of emergency to end in order to guarantee credible elections.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Controversies, State of emergency
The calls to end the state of emergency were criticised by the Turkish government and loyal members of parliament, who called the PACE declaration 'politicised, unfair, unjust and beyond the limits'. Prime minister Binali Yıldırım criticised PACE for being 'non-credible' due to it having invited Democratic Union Party (PYD) chairman Salih Muslim, who is regarded as a terrorist leader by Turkey, to give a speech. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared Nauert's statements about a forthcoming election 'unacceptable'.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Controversies, Media censorship
Following his nomination as the CHP's presidential candidate on 4 May, Muharrem İnce began his campaign with a rally in his hometown of Yalova. It was noted that only pro-opposition TV channels such as Halk TV were covering the event, with the state broadcaster TRT notably absent. In his next rally at Balıkesir, İnce declared that if TRT were to continue not broadcasting opposition campaigns, he would march to the TRT headquarters with the CHP's 130 MPs and conduct his next rally in front of them.


2018 Turkish presidential election, Controversies, Media censorship
A similar situation was observed during the İyi Party's first extraordinary congress on 1 April, which was only covered by Halk TV. In response, party leader Meral Akşener claimed that she had not embarked on her campaign with any expectations from 'the government's media'. The party subsequently sent the TRT photos from the congress, an abacus and a calculator as a 'present', so that they could count how many people attended the event.