Turkey in an Election Year. Ali Çarkoğlu, Bill Park, John Peet and Sir David Logan

In March 2014, local elections will be held in Turkey. These always have greater national significance in Turkey than in the UK. Next year, they will be the first electoral barometer for the popularity of the ruling AKP after last summer's protests over the development of Gezi Park in Istanbul. Their outcome is likely to affect the political parties' approach to the Presidential election in July-the first such election in Turkey to be decided by direct popular vote - and even perhaps the identities of the candidates themselves. The outcome of the Presidential election will in turn be critical for the next Turkish general election scheduled for June 2015, when the ruling AKP, which has transformed the face of Turkey since it came to power in 2002, will attempt to win a fourth term in office.

The panel will consider possible outcomes from these important elections and give their views on the implications of them for the future of Turkey's multi-party democracy.