Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan Calls for Snap Elections This Coming June

On April 18^th during an address Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called for snap elections to be held this year on June 24^th, more than a year earlier than the previously planned November 2019 presidential elections.

The announcement came after Erdogan met with Devlet Bahceli who is head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). This move by Erdogan gives him a huge advantage this summer in the upcoming election because Erdogan can capitalize on nationalist support for Turkey’s recent advance in Northern Syria, pushing the Kurdish YPG away from the border and out of Afrin.

During the address Erdogan said the new system needs to be implemented quickly so that they can “overcome uncertainties quickly” and the country can deal with challenges such as Turkey’s fight against Kurdish forces in northern Syria.

This move also gives little time for opposition parties to organize and find a candidate to run against Erdogan. A government spokesperson for the Peoples’ Republican Party (CHP) said that they are reluctant to put their leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu up for election because they don’t think he will be able to compete with Erdogan. The only candidate who has announced that they will be running for election this summer against Erdogan is Meral Aksener who represents the Good party.

This upcoming election Turkey will be switching from a parliamentary system to a presidential system. This move will increase the powers of the President allowing them to appoint vice presidents, ministers, high-level officials, and senior judges as well as issue executive decrees and impose states of emergency.

The constitutional change narrowly past in a 2017 referendum. Erdogan supporters say that this move will help modernize the country. The system change solidifies Erdogan’s power further and can allow him to control more aspects of government.

The election will also be held under a two-year-old state of emergency that dates to 2016 because of a failed coup that Turkey blames on the U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. The state of emergency was extended on April 18^th for another three months. The state of emergency allows the government to close down media outlets and other non-governmental organizations.

The snap elections are a power move by Erdogan to help him maintain his rule over Turkey for another 5 years. The elections give Erdogan’s AK party a substantial advantage while nearly crippling any opposing party’s chances of running a successful campaign this coming June.