No early election after June polls, says PM Yıldırım

İZMİR- Anadolu Agency

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has ruled out the possibility of calling another snap election after the June 24 polls. 

“No, there is no need for such a thing [early election]. We cannot keep the nation busy with elections,” Yıldırım said on June 19 during an interview with broadcaster Star TV.

“The system will not be clogged. Our people will not let such a dilemma occur. They make calculations and take their decisions accordingly,” he added.

Six candidates are competing in the presidential race and eight political parties are taking part in the parliamentary elections, which were brought forward 18 months following a joint proposal of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

The MHP has endorsed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s presidential candidacy following its support for the constitutional amendment shifting Turkey to an executive presidential system, narrowly approved in an April 2017 referendum marred by allegations of fraud.

Parliament passed the bill for early elections on April 20, calling for an early election to cement Turkey’s move to a presidential system, which has been criticized by numerous civic organizations as well as the EU, as a measure diverting from democratic standards.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the İYİ (Good) Party, the Felicity Party (SP) have teamed up under the umbrella of the “Nation Alliance,” which will run against the “People’s Alliance” established by AKP and the MHP in the June 24 elections.