Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aspires to rule Turkey for another five years. Therefore, he practices all means and methods to win the upcoming elections which he considers crucial for him and his rule. As a result, he announced the election date on May 14 instead of June, i.e. he brought the date forward by one month. Certainly, he believes that this is in his interest and in the interest of his party, because every minute preceding the elections makes a big difference for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to decide the result. Hence the following question comes: Why did the Turkish president bring the date of the elections forward to May 14 and what is his goal in doing so?
There are three main reasons for bringing the date of the elections forward:
* The Turkish opposition has always been calling for early elections and it was in its interest, simply because it had prepared well to run in them but with the current situation, the matter is completely different because the opposition has not nominated a unified candidate fearing that Erdogan will place obstacles in his way in order for him to run alone. The best example of this is Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, who was sentenced to imprisonment for eleven months, and was prevented from practicing politics on charges of insulting the Turkish president. Imamoglu was the most prominent candidate of the opposition from the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
* On May 14, 1950, the Democratic Party, which was founded in 1946 by Adnan Menderes and his supporters who defected from Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s party, won the elections by an overwhelming majority. It was the only elections in Turkey after the proclamation of the Republic. Therefore, Erdogan considers himself the heir of Adnan Menderes, who was later executed. Menderes was the first prime minister of Turkey to be executed after the coup against him, and therefore both parties are among the ranks of the Islamic parties in Turkey.
* Holding the elections on the previously set date in mid-June coincides with the date of the pilgrimage season to the Islamic sanctities, and as Turkey is an Islamic country, there are tens of thousands of elderly Turks who would like to go to the Holy Land and visit the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad. Therefore, the new election date is suitable for winning their votes before the pilgrimage season, because the vote of every voter matters to Erdogan and increases his chances of winning the fateful elections for him and his party, the AKP.
To conclude, Erdogan will use every card by striking the opposition, playing the refugee card, or making promises to the Kurds, as it happens in every electoral process to win at the expense of the opposition to achieve his goals and his dream of restoring the glories of his Ottoman ancestors and occupying more lands in order to achieve his project “Misak-ı Millî”.
