Turkish gov't 'may go to snap polls to prevent further loss of votes'

Duvar English

Turkish gov't can't risk holding early elections, opposition parties say

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) may reportedly go to snap polls to prevent further loss of votes, as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is aware of the decrease in the level of support.

With early elections, the AKP may prevent the number of its lawmakers decrease below 200 from the current 291, a politician who served among the AKP ranks for long years told Duvar.

The debate on early elections has been ongoing for months in the country, with the regular parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled to be held in 2023.

According to the politician, referring Erdoğan and ministers to the Grand Chamber for their acts in the past is not possible even if an investigation commission is established in a parliament that that the AKP has 200 or more deputies.

In such a scenario, the AKP can also make constitutional amendments without a referendum, the politician said.

EXCLUSIVE - Support for Erdoğan's AKP lowest in 17 years, top pollster says

Separately, an AKP lawmaker has criticized deputies, ministers and party administrators for sharing pictures of Erdoğan on social media, saying that it's what "our neighborhood representatives would do."

AKP supporters have been sharing pictures of Erdoğan regularly with hashtags such as "Erdoğan Photo of the Day."

"These are what our neighborhood representatives would do. It's out of place for bureaucrats, ministers and deputies to do so," an AKP deputy said, sources told Duvar.