The date became clear as May 14 in the elections in Türkiye

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the election decision at the press conference. The elections will be held on May 14, as previously mentioned. Speaking at the press conference, President Erdogan said that for those who want to be a candidate from the AK Party, they have made donations to AFAD.

Here are the headlines from President Erdogan's statements:

"I have signed the decision to renew the elections that should be held on 18 June 2023 on 14 May. Following the decision to be published in the Official Newspaper tomorrow, the YSK (High Election Board) will start the 2-month election calendar. Our nation will go to the polls on 14 May to elect the president and deputies.

"We shared the decision before Christmas. Some of the reasons for making the decision to push us forward the election date are as follows; June 18 was a date that coincided with the university exam calendar. This date coincided with a period when hundreds of thousands of our citizens, at home and abroad, went to the blessed lands to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. Due to the fact that primary and secondary schools were on holiday, millions of our citizens would go on vacation and to go to their hometowns. As an alternative, we offered May 14. We know that a date that corresponds to a meaningful anniversary in terms of our democratic past is well received."

'EARTHQUAKE WAS OUT OF THE AGENDA'

"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 115,000 people were rescued as injured."

'TÜRKİYE DOESN'T TOLERATE A WASTE OF TIME'

"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. Türkiye has no tolerance for waste of time and distraction."