Skip to main content

Despite emphatic past denials, Erdogan calls for early elections

By moving presidential elections up by over a year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has everything to gain.
RTX5GCJD.jpg

Turkey’s president announced today, April 18, that the country’s next presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in two months instead of in November 2019, a move expected to give him an enormous advantage, especially as the opposition currently has no candidate to challenge him.

With the election, now set for June 24, Turkey will convert to a presidential rather than parliamentary government. Under a referendum voters approved last year — barely — the next president’s power will increase significantly.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.