Turkish general elections to be held on May 14: Erdogan

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Jan 2023 21:25

It was already reported earlier this month that discussions were being held regarding a rescheduling of the general elections to Spring instead of June 18.

People walk near a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, Turkey, 2 November 2022. (EPA-EFE)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that the general elections are scheduled to take place on May 14, which is a month earlier than initially planned.

"You will vote for the first time in the election, which will be held on May 14," Erdogan said at a meeting with young people in the city of Bursa.

"Some people are trying to misrepresent the purpose [of rescheduling the election]. This is not an early election, it is a shift of the election date," Erdogan said.

The president added that "seasonal conditions" including exams and agricultural work had been taken into consideration when deciding to move the election from June 18 to May 14.

It was already reported earlier this month that discussions were being held regarding rescheduling of the general elections to Spring instead of June 18.

The change poses a serious problem for the opposition who are left with less time to select a common candidate.

Although the election is a few months away, Erdogan's conservative Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, or AKP), which came to power in 2002, may face a difficult challenge as the country sails through the wave of high inflation and a depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar.

The AKP is barely passing 30% of popular support, according to recent polls in Turkey. Despite that, Erdogan is still amping up preparations to enter Syria and dissolve Kurdish armed groups, which Turkey views as tied to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) guerrillas.

He has also threatened to strike its NATO ally Greece over the regional disputes of Cyprus, alleged “militarization” of Greek islands, and expansion in the Aegean Sea.

Erdogan's government has likewise in recent years adopted a more autocratic stance against his critics.