Last week marked a turning point in Turkish politics as Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli called for early elections during his group speech at Parliament on Tuesday. Frankly, the government did not expect such a request. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had so far been working toward the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for November 2019.But in my opinion, Bahçeli's call was timely and therefore positively received by Erdoğan. Accordingly, on June 24, 2018, the Turkish electorate will cast ballots for president and Parliament according to the new system for the first time.

So why did we need early elections? As a journalist living in Turkey, I can explain it as follows: Over the past few months, every parameter has been linked to the 2019 elections, whereas the local election scheduled for March 2019 has been presented as a matter of life or death for the government. Some false impressions suggested that even the slightest decline in power in the local elections would raise questions about the legitimacy of the government. This situation has strained the country and created an atmosphere that was not actually convenient for local elections.Also, complacency started to prevail in the business word because of the situation. The country seemed to be idly waiting on pause. For this reason, I have been suggesting for the last couple of months that an election in 2018 would clear the way for Turkey.

The new system accepted with the April 16, 2017 referendum must be implemented as soon as possible, and Turkey must expedite its progress again by predicting the following five years more clearly. For these reasons, I find the early election decision quite timely and favorable.

Heated debates have been ongoing in the run up to the June 24 elections. The parties that will run have kicked off their campaigns. The People's Alliance, comprised of the AK Party and the MHP, has secured a substantial number of votes. The Afrin operation has, in particular, increased popular support for the alliance. It seems that the support Erdoğan enjoys corresponds to 50 percent of the voting population. However, things have yet to fall into place for the opposition. Although the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and its leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu had called on the government to hold early elections for months, the party has yet to present a candidate. They are expected to announce a name this week, but there have been serious disagreements within the party. A cacophony has erupted in the party, with many members stepping forward for the candidacy. While a wing of the party favors a name that will represent the conventional stance of the CHP, another wing is in search of a right-wing figure to address a wider audience. A substantial part of the party wants Kılıçdaroğlu as a candidate but the party leader has not given the green light to proceed yet.Unfortunately, this picture is demoralizing for the opponents. A strong opposition is needed to strengthen Turkish democracy, but the CHP is only demoralizing its electorate at this point with confusion and organizational problems. I think one of the primary problems Turkey faces is the lack of an opposition in line with the country's fight against tutelage regimes and the progress achieved for the past decade.

In addition, I have observed that the CHP's strategy seems to be adding strain to the political atmosphere before the elections. During a parliamentary session organized for the April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day, Kılıçdaroğlu used an aggressive tone whereas Özgür Özel, another key figure of the CHP, issued antagonistic remarks against Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım. Such developments indicate that the main opposition is looking to consolidate its electorate through political tension. However, this is an extremely dangerous strategy that will sharpen the polarization in the country. What happened in the plenary session does unfortunately clash with the atmosphere required ahead of elections. Instead of staying calm and trying to develop a new discourse, the main opposition is seeking to criminalize the ruling power, which betrays the trust in politics.