Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish President, called a snap election on Wednesday to be held almost a year and a half early, as parliament extended the state of emergency amid a widespread crackdown on dissent.

As concerns grown that Mr Erdogan is squeezing opposition and further consolidating an increasingly authoritarian hold on power, elections were unexpectedly pulled forward to June 24 this year.

Mr Erdogan, whose government had repeatedly rejected that it would move the scheduled November 2019 election, defended his decision by saying that Turkey needed to switch to an executive presidency. A referendum last year gave the presidency sweeping new powers, which could only be given after the presidential election.

The state of emergency allows Erdogan to rule by decree during the campaign season, passing laws without the approval of parliament. Critics argue that it has already allowed him to target dissenters and carry out an extensive purge that has seen thousands sacked from state agencies and in some cases jailed.

Veli Agbaba, the deputy head of Turkey’s current main opposition party, CHP, told The Telegraph: “They take this early election decision because of fear... They want to benefit [from] state of emergency conditions."