Erdogan may dissolve the parliament for a snap election - analyst

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may dissolve the parliament and call for snap elections, Turkish journalist Murat Yetkin said.

“Unless the opposition approves, it is arithmetically very difficult for Erdogan to take an early election decision from the parliament. In this case, Erdogan can dissolve the parliament and lead the country to snap elections within 60 days,” Yetkin said in an article published on Yetkin Report on Monday.

“This will not only be an admission of fears that Erdogan won’t be able to win the election in the first round which is scheduled for June 18, but will also mean that Erdogan will dissolve the parliament in order to obtain an electoral advantage,” he said.

Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) are facing presidential and parliamentary elections on June 18 at the latest, amid Turkey’s economic woes that trouble Erdogan’s public support. Critics argue that AKP is eyeing an early election to be held in April or May.

Commenting on a possible early election, AKP’s vice chair Hamza Dag on Sunday said there’s two possible ways for an early election. “One of them is the parliament’s taking a decision with the vote of 360 deputies in the 550-seat assembly, and the other is the president’s dissolving the parliament,” Dag said.

The ruling alliance (AKP-MHP) maintains 334 seats in Turkish parliament.

According to Yetkin, AKP’s main reason for eyeing an early election is that the previously scheduled election date overlaps with the Hadj season, an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

While the pilgrimage begins on June 26, the journey of those who will go on the pilgrimage will begin in mid-June, Yetkin said.

“We can assume that AKP voters will be the majority of those who will travel to Mecca,” he said.