Turkey to hold presidential snap election on June 24

The statement on the snap vote was made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on April 18 after a brief meeting with his ally, MHP leader Devlet Bahceli, who first proposed early elections in August 2018 on the previous day.

“We have widely discussed the proposal of Mr. Bahceli in our executive board. We have decided to give a positive response to this proposal on holding early elections. The intensification of Turkey’s internal and external agenda has obliged us to remove the uncertainties in front of us through early elections,” Erdogan told reporters.

Ongoing military operations in Syria, regional developments and macroeconomic necessities create an “urgency” for Turkey to immediately start the implementation of the executive presidential model instead of waiting for November 2019, he added.

“Even though the president and the government are working in unison, the diseases of the old system confront us at every step we take,” Erdogan said.

“We have decided to hold the elections on June 24. We, as the AK Party and MHP groups, are immediately launching necessary procedures at parliament,” he added, also underlining that the Supreme Election Board (YSK) will accelerate its work to prepare for the twin elections.

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