MHP to support Erdoğan in snap presidential election

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

The leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) said on April 18 that his party would support President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the planned snap presidential election in June.

“Our presidential candidate is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli announced on his Twitter account.

Bahçeli said he reached a historical agreement with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during their meeting.

“As Turkey is under attack and siege from many fronts, resorting to the opportunities of democracy is a legitimate, appropriate, and fair action,” he said.

The MHP leader said thanks to this latest decision to hold snap elections, the democratic road map for a presidential government system has become clear.

Earlier on April 18, Erdoğan announced plans to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on June 24, more than a year earlier than they had originally been scheduled for in November 2019.

The announcement came after Bahçeli—whose party is set to enter elections in an alliance with the ruling Justice and Development (AKP)—called for early elections.

On April 16, 2017, Turkey held a referendum during which the majority of voters pronounced themselves in favor of an 18-article bill switching from a parliamentary system to a presidential one.