Decoding Turkey’s move to call snap elections

Turkey, battling a state of emergency, wavering economy and escalating regional tensions, has brought forward presidential and parliamentary elections to June, a year and a half ahead of the schedule.

The elections under a new system could transform the republic into a single-party state, concentrating sweeping powers into the hands of the country’s president, notes The Guardian.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan underscored the importance of having an executive president at a time when Turkey is engaged in military operations in Syria and Iraq, but experts believe the decision is a tact to beat the effects of economic downturn, writes Al Jazeera.