ANKARA – President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Turkey’s presidentialand parliamentary elections will be brought forward to June 24, more than ayear earlier than planned, saying the country urgently needed to make theswitch to an executive presidency.

Erdogan said he made the decision after speaking to the head of thenationalist MHP party, Devlet Bahceli, who a day earlier had floated theprospect of early polls. The elections had previously been slated forNovember 2019.

“Even though the president and government are working in unison, thediseases of the old system confront us at every step we take,” Erdogan saidin a speech broadcast live on television.

“Developments in Syria and elsewhere have made it urgent to switch to thenew executive system in order to take steps for our country’s future in astronger way… We discussed Mr Bahceli’s call with our relevantauthorities. We came to the agreement that we should approach this earlyelection positively.”

Turkey’s lira currency firmed slightly against the dollar, and was at4.0602 at 1314 GMT. The yield on Turkey’s benchmark bond fell some 10 basispoints.

The government had previously dismissed the prospect of early polls.Erdogan last year narrowly won a referendum to change the constitution andcreate an executive presidency. However, those extended powers are not dueto take effect until after the presidential election.