Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has called a snap presidential and parliamentary election on June 24 this year with an aim to increase his powers.
Erdogan announced on Wednesday that elections originally scheduled for November 2019 will now be held June 24.
He made the announcement after a meeting with Devlet Bahceli, the leader of Turkey's main nationalist party.
In a speech broadcast live on television he said it was also urgent to switch to the new executive system in order to take steps for our country’s future in a stronger way.
“We came to the agreement that we should approach this early election positively,” Erdogan said.
He said the new system needs to be implemented quickly in order to deal with a slew of challenges ahead, including Turkey's fight against Kurdish insurgents in Syria and Iraq.
Reuters said bringing the election forward means that it will take place under a state of emergency.
The emergency has been in place since a July 2016 attempted coup and was extended by parliament on Wednesday for another three months.
In 15 years of rule as prime minister and later president, Erdogan has transformed a poor country at the eastern edge of Europe into a major emerging market.
Yet Turkey’s rapid economic growth has also come with increased authoritarianism, as Erdogan has accelerated a crackdown on dissent since the failed coup.
Erdogan and his ministers had previously dismissed the prospect of early polls.
Last year he narrowly won a referendum to change the constitution and create an executive presidency, which will come into effect with the next presidential vote.
