The 2023 elections may be held in May, a month earlier than planned, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) said Thursday.
In a statement, the secretary-general of the MHP, Ismet Büyükataman, said the elections, scheduled to be held on June 18, 2023, could be held in May due to nationwide university exams and Eid al-Adha (Qurban Bayram) holidays in June.
“There is no official statement or a proposal on the matter,” Büyükataman said, adding that they are striving to hold the elections on time on the designated date.
On Sunday, the party will launch its election campaign meetings under the theme of "Towards 2023: Candidate is Certain, Decision is Clear."
The next presidential and parliamentary elections in Türkiye are expected to be held in June 2023. The MHP is the alliance partner of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) under the People's Alliance.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the candidate of the alliance for the upcoming presidential elections. The Nation Alliance, mainly formed by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Good Party (IP), seems to be the biggest rival in the polls but has yet to decide on a formal presidential candidate.
It has been nearly five years since Turkey switched from a parliamentary system to the current presidential system after the majority of Turkish voters opted to create the new system.
Turkish voters narrowly endorsed an executive presidency on the April 16, 2017 referendum with 51.4% votes in favor. The official transition to the new system took place when Erdoğan took the presidential oath of office in Parliament after the June 24, 2018, general elections with 52.6% of the votes.
