Signs point to early Turkish elections
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may exploit a fractured opposition and a popular military campaign to bring forward presidential and parliament elections, cementing the new powers he won in last year’s referendum.
Turkey may be preparing for a snap election this year to enshrine President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s expanded powers and capitalize on the disarray of a splintered opposition enfeebled by a long crackdown that has jailed politicians, journalists and activists in the wake of a failed coup.
Moving up the date of the presidential and parliamentary votes, which are currently due to be held together in November 2019, will hasten the end of Turkey’s century-old parliamentary system, eliminating the office of prime minister and concentrating vast executive powers in Erdogan’s office after he narrowly won a referendum on the controversial amendments to the constitution last year.
Publicly, the government insists it will not change the election date and Erdogan has long expressed disdain for early polls as a weakness and harmful to “democracy’s honor.”
But pundits and investors see signs he is readying for an early national ballot, pointing to recent legislation to perk up a sagging economy and change electoral rules, as well as Erdogan’s giving what resembles campaign speeches around the country.
