Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has signalled that Turkey’s elections will be held on May 14, pulling the crucial vote forward by a month as the ruling party faces its toughest campaign after two decades in power.
The 68-year-old president said in a speech to lawmakers in his Justice and Development party (AKP) on Wednesday that both the presidential and parliamentary poll would take place on the same date as Turkey’s first free multi-party election in 1950.
Polls show support for the AKP hovering at historical lows over its handling of Turkey’s $800bn economy. Raging inflation, double-digit unemployment and a currency crisis have shrunk Turkish households’ spending power. In recent weeks, Erdoğan has announced public spending measures as part of efforts to ease the economic pain.