The prospect of early elections is out of the question, President and Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told the party's Central Executive Board (MYK).
According to party sources, President Erdoğan stressed at a meeting of the AK Party's Central Executive Board that there would be no early elections in the upcoming period, pointing to November 2019 for the general and presidential elections.
Party sources contended that the president has been bothered by rumors about snap elections. "Where are these coming from? Do not talk about this anymore. We do not have such an effort. You should stress this very openly as well," Erdoğan reportedly told fellow deputies and party authorities.
Recently, AK Party Spokesman Mahir Ünal said that the grand congress of the party will be held in late June and that efforts to finalize provincial congresses have been accelerated. "We will start our preparations probably in December 2018, and in January and February of 2019 our campaign will begin," he said.
After the AK Party announced that the grand congress would be held in June, rumors surfaced that snap elections would be called for August or September. In relation to the rumors that there will be snap elections, Ünal reiterated that elections would be held as scheduled.
Furthermore, Deputy Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson Bekir Bozdağ reiterated yesterday in a televised interview that there would not be early elections.
Meanwhile, President Erdoğan commented on the adjustment laws at the MYK meeting. Calling on AK Party members to speed up the preparation process of the adjustment laws in line with the changes approved in the April 16 referendum, Erdoğan said that the laws should be made ready before Parliament goes on the summer break.
The ongoing preparations for the executive presidential system are expected to be ready prior to the 2019 elections. The adjustment laws committees will finalize their work by April 19, and the final draft will be submitted to Erdoğan for the third and last time. Some of the regulations will be ratified in Parliament before it goes on summer recess. It is expected that regulations regarding the presidential elections and the package regarding local administrations will be prioritized.
According to sources, the adjustment laws committees established in the party will seek to give the complex bureaucracy system a new shape to increase efficiency.
