Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been active in politics since the early 1990s, when he first campaigned for election as Istanbul’s mayor. Friends and foes alike agree he is a skilled orator. Erdogan thrives on public speaking and rallies. For 25 years, cheering crowds have mirrored his passion and dedication. Yet the 2018 election campaign is different. The AKP is confident of its base, but signs are emerging that the spell might be broken.

Erdogan and other senior AKP members have been finding it difficult to connect with the average voter. To add insult to injury, the opposition — more united than ever before — is having a field day both over social media and in public rallies, ridiculing angry government officials. In a way, this election has become a battle between bitterness and laughter as opposition members creatively satirize Erdogan and the rest of the AKP's comments. The latest interviews indicate Erdogan is eager to reach the end of this distressing election process.

Here are a few recent examples:

The Turkish Constitution lists a college degree as a prerequisite for the presidency, so Erdogan’s lack of one has been a major concern. Muharrem Ince, the candidate of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), launched his political campaign by distributing copies of his degree along with comments by his classmates and professors. He then demanded to see Erdogan’s diploma. To counter these claims, a pro-government journalist went on television and claimed that followers of the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen stole and destroyed Erdogan’s diploma. Sharp-tongued Ince brought up the issue again at his rally in Sanliurfa June 6, joking, “Well, Gulen members replied to that: ‘We were going to destroy it all right, but we could not find it.’”