VOTERS in Turkey returned to the polls today to decide whether the country’s longtime authoritarian leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stretches his rule into a third decade or is unseated by a challenger who has promised to restore a more democratic society.

Mr Erdogan is predicted to win a new five-year term in the second-round run-off after coming just short of an outright victory in the first round on May 14.

The rightwinger finished 4 percentage points ahead of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party alliance and leader of Turkey’s centre-left opposition party. 

Mr Erdogan’s performance in the polls was despite crippling inflation and the effects of a devastating earthquake three months ago.

More than 64 million people were eligible to cast ballots in what Mr Kilicdaroglu has described as a referendum on the country’s future.

Their decision could have implications far beyond Ankara because of Turkey’s geographical position at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, its political links with Russia and the Middle East and and its key role in Nato.

Turkey has recently vetoed Sweden’s bid to join the Western military alliance and bought Russian missile-defence systems, which prompted the United States to oust Turkey from the US-led fighter-jet project. 

The May 14 election prompted a 87 per cent turnout, and strong participation was expected again for today’s poll, reflecting voters’ desire for their voices to be heard in a country where freedom of expression and assembly have been suppressed.

Mr Erdogan, who heads the Justice & Development Party (AKP), is already Turkey's longest-serving leader.

Mr Kilicdaroglu has led the pro-secular Republican People’s Party (CHP) since 2010. He campaigned on a promise to reverse Mr Erdogan’s democratic backsliding, restore the economy by reverting to more conventional policies and to improve ties with the West.

In an effort to reach out to nationalist voters in the run-off, Mr Kilicdaroglu vowed to send back refugees and ruled out any peace negotiations with Kurdish militants if he is elected.

The repatriation of Syrian refugees who fled to Turkey to escape the civil war in their country has become a key issue in the election.

Earlier in the week, Mr Erdogan received the endorsement of third-place candidate, nationalist politician Sinan Ogan, who garnered 5.2 per cent of votes and is no longer in the race. 

Meanwhile, a staunchly anti-migrant party that had supported Mr Ogan’s candidacy, announced it would back Mr Kilicdaroglu.