Turkish President Erdogan officially calls for elections on May 14

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signed a decision Friday in a ceremony broadcast live on TV, officially launching the process for Turkey's May 14 elections.

Erdogan initiated the formal procedures that will allow the 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections to be brought forward from the previous official date of June 18, which will be the biggest test of his 20-year rule.

He will run against the main opposition's Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the chair of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and the joint opposition candidate of Nation Alliance, which consists of six opposition parties.

Initial polls after the quakes had indicated that Erdogan had largely maintained his support despite the disaster. But the emergence of a united opposition, even after a delay in selecting its candidate, could prove a greater challenge for him, analysts say.

The key is how the opposition can win the support of Kurdish voters, who make up 15% of the electorate. The co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said they could support Kilicdaroglu after a "clear and open" conversation.