Tayyip Erdogan
Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president and leader of the AK Party, casts his vote Getty

The polls have opened for the Turkish people on Sunday (1 November), in an election closely watched by the whole world. In what could mean the end of the Erdogan era, the vote is also vital because of Turkey's geographical and political position in the international community.

Pollsters are predicting voter turnout which is likely to be much higher than the 7 June elections and could be as high as 86% of the electorate. One major factor determining the result will be whether the AKP is able to reclaim electoral districts it lost in June by margins of a few thousand votes in 38 key provinces out of 81.

If there is another hung parliament, political parties will have 45 days to form a coalition government, which could see the AKP joining forces with the nationalist MHP or the secular CHP, according to the Assyrian International News Agency.

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After failed coalition efforts in June, when the AK Party, founded by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, lost a majority government vote for the first time since 2002, the election is the second in 2015.

A failed ceasefire with Turkish Kurds, the increasing presence of the Islamic State in Turkey and the international tension with neighbouring country Syria's ruling Ba'ath party, have all taken their toll on Erdogan's popularity.

Selahattin Demirtas, the head of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP), managed to garner 13% of the votes in June, robbing Erdogan from a majority government victory. "Unfortunately, it was a difficult and troubled period of election campaigning," he said in a Guardian report, after casting his vote. "Lives were lost. My wish is that a great hope for peace and calm emerges."

Because of the tension between Erdogan's AK Party and the Kurds, who are battling the Islamic State, the former president is losing his following. Erdogan has also been accused of severely limiting press freedom and harming democracy. Because of his alleged authoritarianism and his severe leadership, Erdogan's 13-year-rule is under threat.

The political turmoil has also had its impact on Turkey's struggling economy. Although the GDP expanded in September, the consensus was that it was a one-off pick off, as the $800bn (£518bn) economy is hurt by almost daily political clashes.