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3 reasons for Turkey to bring forward the date of the presidential and parliamentary elections In light of repeated statements by officials of the ruling Justice and Development Party in Turkey about advancing the date of the presidential and parliamentary elections that the country will witness on June 18, the question in political circles has become whether it is possible that these elections will actually be held before their scheduled date. "Advancing the date of the elections is possible and possible for several reasons, most notably the summer holidays and the coincidence of the previously set date for the elections with Eid al-Adha," said Matt Kaan Kaynar, an academic and professor of political science at Hacettepe University in Turkey. Advertising material He added, "The elections in June also coincide with the holidays of universities and educational facilities, and that is why many people travel from cities to the countryside, and therefore the ruling coalition is trying to hold elections before people move to their towns and villages and before the end of universities and the harvest season … especially since the new election law prevents citizens from From participating in the elections if they changed their residential addresses less than 3 months before the elections. From previous elections in Turkey (archive) The Turkish academic also revealed two other reasons for the ruling coalition's desire to hold elections ahead of schedule. In this regard, he said, "The current constitution prohibits the nomination of the president for more than two terms, but if the elections are held prematurely, the president who won the presidency twice can participate in the elections for the third time, and for this reason the ruling coalition may resort to holding elections before June." He added, "The second reason is related to a historic day in Turkey, which is May 14, 1950, when the Democratic Party overthrew the Republican People's Party, which is today the main opposition party in the country. Therefore, the ruling coalition may choose this symbolic day to hold the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections." According to officials from the ruling coalition, the election date may be brought forward to the period between late April and mid-May, instead of the scheduled date of June 18. Last Monday, a senior official from the ruling party announced the ruling coalition's desire to bring the date of the next presidential and parliamentary elections closer, to be after the month of Ramadan and before the predetermined date of next June. "It is possible to hold elections after Eid al-Fitr without waiting until June," said Erkan Candemir, Turkish Vice President of the Justice and Development Party, during a television interview. He also revealed reasons why bringing forward the election date was reasonable, adding that "changing the election date aims to enable widespread access to the ballot boxes." The Turkish official added, "The election date scheduled for June coincides with the summer vacation, during which many city dwellers leave for their towns and villages, and for this reason we seek to end the electoral process before June." The Turkish vice president's statements came about a week after similar statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which he indicated that "the date of the 2023 elections may be moved a little earlier to take into account seasonal conditions," without providing further details.
In the wake of repeated statements by officials of the ruling Justice and Development Party in Turkey about bringing forward the date of the presidential and parliamentary elections that the country will witness on June 18, the question in political circles has become whether it is possible that these elections will actually be held before their scheduled date. Kaan Kaynar, an academic and professor of political science at Hacettepe University in Turkey, said, "Advancing the election date is possible and possible for several reasons, most notably the summer vacation and the coincidence of the previously set date for the elections with Eid al-Adha." He added, "The elections in June also coincide with the holiday of universities and educational facilities, and for this Many people travel from cities to the countryside, and that is why the ruling coalition is trying to hold elections before people move to their towns and villages, and before the end of universities and the harvest season. For 3 months.” The Turkish academic also revealed two other reasons for the ruling coalition’s desire to hold elections before their scheduled date. He said in this regard: In connection with the "Constitution
