Turkey’s Erdogan declares early elections on June 24

Ali Balikci | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on April 18, 2018.

Erdogan said he made the decision after speaking to the head of the nationalist MHP party, Devlet Bahceli, who a day earlier had floated the prospect of early polls.

The elections had previously been slated for November 2019.

“Even though the president and government are working in unison, the diseases of the old system confront us at every step we take,” Erdogan said in a speech broadcast live on television.

“Developments in Syria and elsewhere have made it urgent to switch to the new executive system in order to take steps for our country’s future in a stronger way… We discussed Mr Bahceli’s call with our relevant authorities. We came to the agreement that we should approach this early election positively.”

Turkey’s lira currency firmed slightly against the dollar, and was at 4.0602 at 1314 GMT. The yield on Turkey’s benchmark bond fell some 10 basis points.