Turkish parliamentary committee ratifies election bill

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

The Turkish Parliament’s constitutional committee on April 19 approved a motion seeking early presidential and parliamentary elections on June 24.

The bill was signed by Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli.

The parliament’s general assembly is expected to debate the bill on April 20.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on April 18 announced a plan to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on June 24, more than one year earlier than they had initially been scheduled for November 2019.

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

“Turkey’s cross-border operation in Syria, and the situation in both Syria and Iraq, obliged Turkey to overcome uncertainties as soon as possible,” Erdoğan had said.

“At a time when developments in Syria accelerated, and we have to take very important decisions, from macroeconomic equilibrium to large investments, the election issue should be taken off the table as soon as possible,” he added.