Ankara, 23 January 2023 (GNP): The upcoming Turkish presidential and legislative elections will take place on May 14, as declared by the country’s president.
The declaration was made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who intends to run for re-election, on Saturday, addressing a youth convention in the Bursa province of northwest Turkey. On Sunday, a video of the incident was made public.
Erdogan, who has been in office since 2003—first as prime minister and then as president since 2014—faces his toughest test in his 20 years as leader of the NATO member, the significant rising market economy, and regional military might.
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A presidential candidate has not yet been announced by the six-party opposition alliance. The third-largest party in parliament, pro-Kurdish, has so far been left out of the alliance and indicated it may run a separate candidate.
The 68-year-old Erdogan has been held accountable by the opposition for Turkey’s economic crisis and the loss of civil rights and liberties, claiming that the new system of administration equates to one-man rule.
Erdogan enacted a new form of government in 2018 that eliminated the position of prime minister and gave the president the majority of the executive branch’s authority. Before it, the presidency was primarily a ceremonial position. The presidential and parliamentary elections are held on the same day under the new system.
Turkish Elections for the president and parliament were originally slated for June 18, although Erdogan has already hinted that the poll could be moved up. Election day in June would fall during the busy travel season of the summer, according to a former official of his AK Party.