Turkey, like other countries on Eastern European Time (EET), was supposed to turn its clocks back by one hour on Sunday (Oct. 25) for the annual end of daylight saving time—or, as it’s known in Europe, “summer time.” But this year, the Turkish government told citizens to wait until Nov. 1 to allow more hours of light for voting in the nation’s upcoming parliamentary elections, reports the BBC.
However, anyone who uses internet- or radio-connected mobile devices or computers to tell time knows that those clocks sync automatically to international standards. Today, Oct. 26, many people in Turkey with the latest Apple, Android, and Windows devices woke up with their clocks an hour slower than the government’s.
The hashtag #saatkac (“what’s the time”) is trending among Twitter users in the country.
The government has done this before for national elections and university entrance exams, in each case delaying the clock changes by one day. This year, however, Turkey has asked citizens to wait 14 days before turning their clocks back.
For the next two weeks, then, the country is on “Erdogan Time,” a national joke and a nod to president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s paternalistic reputation.