Turks are voting in a key presidential race to decide whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains in power after 20 years.
His rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who is backed by a broad opposition coalition, has called the vote a referendum on Turkey’s future direction.
The president, who is favorite to win, promises a new era of unifying the country around a “Turkish century”.
But the most important problem is inflation and inflation crisis.
Polling stations close at 17:00 local time (14:00 GMT). Turkish immigrants in Europe and America have already cast their votes.
Turnout in the first round was an impressive 88.8 percent, with Mr. Erdogan leading by 2.5 million votes. That’s why both candidates are eyeing the 8 million who didn’t vote — but might this time.
Ahead of the run-off, Mr Kelikdar Oglu accused his rival of foul play, blocking his text messages to voters while the president’s messages were being passed.
Opposition parties are deploying an army of volunteers to ensure that votes are not rigged.
International observers spoke of the uneven playing field after the first round. But there was no suggestion that any irregularities in the voting would have changed the result.
Mr. Kilicdaroglu promised a very different style of presidency on the final day of his election campaign: “I have no interest in living in palaces. I will live modestly like you … and solve your problems.”
It was a swipe at Mr Erdogan’s huge palace complex on the outskirts of Ankara, which he moved into when he rose from prime minister to president in 2014. After fending off a failed coup in 2016, he gained sweeping powers, detaining tens of thousands of people and taking control of the media.
So it was full of symbolism when he visited the campaign on Saturday at the tomb of the prime minister executed by the army after the coup in 1960.
“The era of coups and juntas is over,” he declared, attributing Turkey’s current stability to his authoritarian rule.
Turkey, however, is deeply polarized, with the president relying on the support of religious conservatives and nationalists, while a number of his opponents are mainly secular – but many are also nationalist.
For several days, the two men were abusive. Mr. Kilicdaroglu accused the president of cowardice and hiding from fair elections. Mr Erdogan said his rival was on the side of “terrorists”, referring to Kurdish militants.
But after days of inflammatory rhetoric about sending home millions of Syrian refugees, the opposition candidate turned to Turkey’s first issue – the economic crisis, and its impact on poor households in particular.
A 59-year-old woman and her grandson joined her on stage to explain how her monthly salary of 5,000 lira (£200; $250) is impossible to live on now that her rent is 4,000 lira (£160; $200).
It may have been staged, but that’s the story across Turkey, where inflation is around 44 percent and wages and state support are failing to keep pace.
Economists say Erdogan’s policy of lowering interest rates rather than raising them has made matters worse.
The Turkish lira has fallen to a record low, demand for foreign currency has increased and the central bank’s net foreign currency reserves are negative for the first time since 2002.
East of Ankara, gleaming tower blocks are rising in Karakkele. It seems to be boom time for the city, which is run by the president’s party.
But many people are struggling here.
Fatima has been running a hairdresser for 13 years, but for the past two years, the work has gone out and the rent and prices of hair products have gone up.
He voted for an ultranationalist candidate who came third, and he doesn’t trust the two men left in the race.
A few doors down the street, Bannaz is working on a sewing machine at a clothing repair shop.
People can’t buy new clothes so she’s earning a lot, even if her monthly rent triples to 4,000 lira. Despite Turkey’s dire situation, she is trusting the president.
