Erdogan officially announces May 14 for elections
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially announced May 14 date for parliamentary and presidential elections a month earlier than scheduled.
“Our nation will go to the polls to elect its president and parliamentarians on May 14,” Erdogan said in a speech after signing the election decision.
The decree published in the Official Gazette said survivors of the earthquakes would retain their voting rights if they had moved, meaning they will be able to vote in the cities where they currently reside.
The May 14 elections will be Erdogan’s biggest test in his 20 years in power, following the devastating earthquakes the hit the country in February.
Erdogan said his campaign would focus on recovery after the earthquakes and would not use any music.
Erdogan seeks to win a third term in power amid massive economic crisis that sweeps Turkey due to fluctuating economy, rising inflation, military interventions in some neighboring countries, and the recent devastating earthquake disaster that killed more than 46.000 people, and caused hundreds of thousands of families to become homeless in 11 states.