In Turkey, despite the earthquake disaster, elections are to be held in mid-May. This was announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara. “This people will, God willing and the time is near, do what is necessary on May 14,” he said. The opposition had previously spoken out in favor of the appointment. Now the incumbent head of state has commented on this for the first time – Erdoğan wants to run again.
He had already set the election date, which was brought forward from June to May, in January. In the meantime, however, there was speculation that the presidential and parliamentary elections could be postponed again. The two severe earthquakes on February 6, which were followed by a number of aftershocks, had dire consequences in Turkey and neighboring Syria: More than 50,000 people died, most of them in Turkey. According to the government, almost two million people were taken from the affected provinces; another 1.9 million live there in tents.
Behind the question of the date is also the dispute as to whether Erdoğan is allowed to compete at all
After that, criticism of the Turkish government’s crisis management was raised, and Erdoğan asked for forgiveness in a speech last week. However, his re-election is by no means certain, partly because of the poor economic situation in the country.
There is more behind the question of the date: the opposition and the government are arguing about whether the 69-year-old Erdoğan can run again at all. In January, he announced that he would arrange for early elections on May 14 by decree. According to the constitution, this can be done either with the approval of 60 percent of the members of parliament or by decree by the president. The opposition argues that according to the constitution, Erdoğan, who was elected president in 2014 and 2018, could only run for a third time if parliament forced new elections. In parliament, however, Erdogan’s ruling AKP and its ultra-nationalist partner MHP only have a simple majority, so without the opposition they could not decide on a new election.
According to the government, nothing stands in the way of Erdoğan’s candidacy. He was elected in 2018 after a constitutional amendment as the first president in a new presidential system – so his previous term does not count. Constitutional law experts are divided on whether a new candidacy is possible or not. The party leader of the strongest opposition party, the CHP, Kemal Kemal Kiliçdaroğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoğlu, and the mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavas (both also CHP), are considered possible opponents of Erdoğan.