Erdogan wants to hold elections in mid-May

In Turkey, despite the earthquake disaster with a total of more than 50,000 deaths, elections will be held in mid-May. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced this on Wednesday in Ankara. “This people, God willing and the time is near, will do what is necessary on May 14,” Erdogan said.

Meanwhile, there was speculation about postponing the presidential and parliamentary elections. However, experts assumed that Erdogan would stick to the election date. The reason for this is his short-term economic program that the Turkish president has put together in recent months.

The opposition had previously spoken in favor of the appointment. Now it was the first time that the sitting head of state commented on it. Erdogan wants to run for president again. Meanwhile, there is also speculation that the election will take place later.

The elections have already been brought forward

The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes killed more than 45,000 people in Turkey alone. More than 1.9 million people were evacuated from affected provinces, according to the government. Another 1.9 million people live there in tents. Thousands of people are also killed in neighboring Syria. No information was provided on the details of the presidential and parliamentary elections that are taking place at the same time.

Erdogan, 69, announced in January that he would call early elections on May 14 – the regular elections would have been in June. Under the constitution, this can be done with the approval of 60 percent of MPs or by decree of the president.

The opposition argues that Erdogan – who was elected president for the first time in 2014 and for the second time in 2018 – can only run for a third time under the constitution if parliament forces new elections.

Erdogan has the majority

In parliament, however, Erdogan’s ruling AKP and its ultra-nationalist partner MHP have only a simple majority – so without the opposition it would not be able to decide on new elections. However, according to the cabinet, there is nothing in the way of the candidacy. Erdogan was elected in 2018 as the first president in a new presidential system following a constitutional amendment – ​​so his previous term does not count. Constitutional law experts are divided on whether a new candidacy is possible or not.

The party leader of the strongest opposition party, the CHP, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, and the mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavas (both also CHP), are considered possible opponents of Erdogan. (zis)

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Source: Blick