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The United States said on Thursday it had concerns about Turkey’s ability to hold free and fair elections given the ongoing state of emergency, a day after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called for a snap vote on June 24, Reuters reports.

“During a state of emergency, it would be difficult to hold a completely free, fair and transparent election in a manner that’s consistent with ... Turkish law and also Turkey’s international obligations,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing, noting Turkey has been under a state of emergency for nearly two years following a July 2016 coup bid.

“We have concerns about their ability to hold it during this type of state of emergency,” Nauert said.

President Erdogan has called for snap parliamentary and presidential elections to be held on June 24, more than a year earlier than planned.

In an address at his presidential palace on Wednesday, Erdogan said the country urgently needed to make the switch to an executive presidency, Aljazeera reported. 

The date will still need to be confirmed by the election commission, he said, but preparations would begin.

His comments came after meeting Devlet Bahceli, head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who, a day earlier, had floated the prospect of early polls.

The parliamentary and presidential polls had previously been slated for November 2019.