President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed the election decision at the press conference held in Beştepe. “My dear nation, esteemed members of the press, I greet you with my heartfelt feelings and affection. I have just signed the decision to renew the presidential and parliamentary elections on 116 May, which should be held on 18 June 2023, with the authorization given by Article 14 of our Constitution.” said.
Here are some headlines from Erdogan's speech:
“I have signed the decision to renew the elections on 18 June 2023 on 14 May. After the decision to be published in the Official Gazette tomorrow, YSK will start the 2-month election calendar. Our nation will go to the polls on May 14 to elect the president and deputies.
We shared the decision before Christmas. We know that the date, which corresponds to a meaningful anniversary in terms of our democracy history, is also accepted for our nation. But the earthquake on February 6 had removed the election date from our agenda.
Although the size of the demolition area made our work very difficult, we rushed to the aid of our people. More than 47 thousand of our people died in the earthquake, which was felt in a wide area. More than 115 people were rescued as injured.
While we gave all our efforts to heal the wounds of the earthquake, the election calendar continued to work. We need to implement a program that will heal the wounds of an unprecedented destruction in the world. Political tensions and uncertainties lead to disruption of efforts to heal earthquake wounds.
The events of the last week are enough to show how big this threat is. We cannot put the political calculations of a section on our nation's shoulders while the country cries out under destruction. Turkey has no tolerance for waste of time and distraction.
In order to increase production and employment, it is essential for our country to leave the election agenda behind. For this reason, we are putting our decision to renew the elections on 14 May into practice. With the publication of the decision we just signed in the Official Gazette, the YSK will prepare and announce the election calendar.
I especially want to remind you how fast the event is going. Our agenda will again consist of healing the wounds of our earthquake victims. I listen to the strange speeches of some representatives of the main opposition. They don't know when we went to the area.
On the second day, I reached the earthquake zone. After completing a tour like this, we started to wander around here with Devlet Bey. We also traveled with Mr. Destici. We are wounded, we are in trouble; The lady is talking. He was a deputy of Hatay… As the President, we continued our work with the same sensitivity in 11 provinces.”