Türkiye to hold elections on May 14, Erdoğan reiterates

Photo: AA

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President Erdoğan repeated at a Justice and Development Party (AKP) meeting that the parliamentary and presidential elections will be held on May 14.

"It is our duty to ask the accounts that need to be asked, judicially, administratively, politically. Know well that this nation will do what is necessary on May 14, I hope," he said.

Previously, Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın said in an interview at CNN International that the polls remain to be held in May.

The country's dual polls were formally planned for June 18. However, the AKP chair has been pointing to the historical May 14 date since January this year.

On May 14, 1950, Türkiye's first "free" elections were held and won with 52 percent of the vote by Adnan Menderes's conservative Democratic Party (DP) who would rule for 10 years but was toppled by a military coup in 1960 and executed the year after.

The earthquakes

There are speculations if the scheduled elections can be held in May or even this year, ever since the disastrous February 6 earthquakes hitting 11 of 81 provinces in Türkiye and killing over 45,000 people in Türkiye alone.

Former AKP heavyweight and ex-Speaker of the Parliament, Bülent Arınç, claimed on February 13 that it is impossible to hold elections in June 2023. However, according to Article 78 of the constitution, only war can be a reason to postpone elections.

On Monday (February 27) a delegation from Türkiye's Supreme Election Council embarked on a mission to report on the voter situation and election security in the disaster area.

According to official figures, over 160,000 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, including many public buildings, which usually serve as voting stations.

In addition, nearly two million people have been displaced and are now living in tents or have moved to another city. However, normally home addresses are deemed essential for voter identification. (AÖ/WM/VK)