Turkish Opposition Says Snap Presidential Election Set For May 14

Faizan Hashmi Published February 25, 2023 | 12:30 AM

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2023) Meral Aksener, the leader of a Turkish opposition party, said on Friday she had evidence that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would on March 10 announce the decision to bring the presidential election forward to May 14.

"We are receiving information that Mr. Erdogan will call the elections for May 14. The decision will be made on March 10," the leader of the Good Party was quoted as saying by the Yeni Akit daily newspaper.

Erdogan said in January that he was considering pushing the presidential and parliamentary polls forward from June 18 to May 14.

Turkish media reported that the elections could be delayed by six to 12 months to allow the nation to rebuild after the devastating quakes.

The voting is expected to be a test of Erdogan's job performance. It will be the second election since Turkey transitioned from a parliamentary system to a presidential one following the 2017 referendum that gave him sweeping new powers.