Turkey’s Erdogan leans towards holding elections in May: report

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is inclined to hold the twin elections on 14 May rather than 18 June, Bloomberg reported.

During meetings held last week with senior leaders of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Erdogan indicated that he still believes 14 May is the ideal date to hold the elections.

One source said the option of holding the elections in May is still on the table, even after two strong earthquakes that hit Turkiye on Monday in the same area where the 7.8 earthquake hit earlier this month killing nearly 426,000 people and leaving massive destruction.

A few days ago, the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper reported that Erdogan had rejected a proposal made by AKP members to postpone the elections to June.

The five-year term of Erdogan’s government end/ in June.

Bloomberg said sources believe that while postponing the elections may give the government more time to set priorities and address the crisis, Erdogan believes that a quick launch of reconstruction efforts and adherence to the election schedule will be an effective way to show the extent of his power and influence.

On Tuesday, deputy chairman of the AK Party and head of the Turkish Group of Inter-Parliamentary Union, Yasin Aktay, said the way Erdogan and his government handled the earthquake disaster has increased his popularity.

READ: Turkiye Erdogan signals 14 May date for his biggest election test