Turkish PM: Parliamentary elections to be held on time

ANKARA

Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoğlu speaks before his departure to Iraq, Nov. 20. AA Photo

Next year’s parliamentary elections will be held on time as a reflection of how things are running normally in Turkey, the prime minister has said, confirming that polls will take place in June 2015.

“There have been some speculations. I made it clear when I became prime minister that we should demonstrate that all things are running normally in Turkey. The elections will be held according to their usual schedule, in June,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said in an interview with state-run TRT late Nov. 19.

This Parliament’s mandate will end on June 12 and expectations are that polls will be held in the first week of June, likely on June 7.

“It’s not right to initiate an election because of public opinion. The polls will be held on time,” Davutoğlu said, ruling out speculation that the government might use the recent decrease in oil prices to its advantage by holding early elections.

“The decrease in oil prices is positive, and [oil prices] will further decrease. But this has no link to the elections,” he stressed.   

Davutoğlu said he will launch his party’s election campaign from Hakkari, an overwhelmingly Kurdish-populated town on the border of Iran and Iraq, and will visit all 81 provinces.