Istanbul, 10 March 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Turkey will hold early presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Friday.

The elections are considered to be the toughest test for Erdoğan in his 20-year rule amid domestic economic troubles, exacerbated by a recent devastating earthquake.

The country's supreme election authority YSK approved Erdoğan's decision shortly after the president's remarks. The second round would be held on May 24 if the first round fails to produce a winner, YSK chair Ahmet Yener told reporters in Ankara.

A presidential decree calling for elections was published in the official gazette on Friday.

"May this decision benefit our country and our people," Erdoğan said in televized remarks from the presidential palace in Ankara.

The elections were originally scheduled for June 18. Erdoğan cited the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage, school holidays and university entrance exams coinciding in mid-June as among the main reasons for moving up the polls.

There had been speculation that the elections would have to be postponed because of a devastating earthquake a month ago in the country's south-east.

The disaster killed more than 46,000 people and displaced nearly 4 million across 11 Turkish provinces.

Thousands also died in neighbouring Syria.

"We do not have any time to waste," Erdoğan said, adding that his government wants to focus on rebuilding the quake-hit region and on compensating for the "economic, social and psychological damage inflicted by the disaster."

He rejected opposition criticism that his government failed to respond to quake relief efforts on time.

No details were initially available as to how the presidential and parliamentary elections are to be held in the quake-hit south-eastern region.

Turkey's six-party opposition bloc last week announced main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as Erdoğan's challenger.