İYİ Party leader criticizes AKP for attempting to bring elections forward

ANKARA

İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener criticized the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of planning to bring the elections forward although they had long asserted to hold the polls as scheduled in June.

“As the election date approached, the government began to struggle to move the elections to an earlier time. In 2018, the month of June was good, but now it’s suddenly hot? Mr. Erdoğan; you never tire yourself. In the next five months, there is no date on which you can be chosen,” Akşener told her party members at the parliament on Jan. 11.

“The thing is, there are five months left until the elections. However, as the election date approaches, the government has begun to struggle to bring the elections forward. They searched for an ideal date where they could win the elections. Recently, they are dealing with it,” she stated.

The AKP officials want to change the election date on the grounds that there will be exams in June, Akşener said and asked, “In 2018, when you decided to make an early election, the month of June was good, but now it has suddenly become hot? When you made the decision in 2018 to hold polls, on the day of the university exams, you didn’t care about the students, but this year it suddenly came to your mind?”

Akşener suggested that the AKP’s move was due to economic considerations.

“They are afraid that they will not be able keep the exchange rates until June,” she said adding that the government was also worried of not being able to ease the inflation. “They are afraid that their salary increases will melt away by June,” she added.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has signaled that the government might consider holding parliamentary and presidential elections earlier than the scheduled date of June 18.

“It is you who know best the importance of the 2023 elections, we will reassess its date because of seasonal conditions,” Erdoğan said on Jan. 5.

Türkiye will normally go to the presidential and parliamentary polls on June 18. The AKP officials are considering bringing the polls forward as June weekends are busy with national university exams.