The leader of the Turkish nationalist party MHP, Devlet Bahçeli, has openly expressed his support for holding the upcoming Turkish presidential elections early in April 2028, thereby backing a proposal that would bring the elections forward by several weeks to allow the current president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to stand again as a candidate, despite the fact that, in principle, the constitution limits this possibility to two consecutive terms.
Responding to questions from journalists following a meeting of his party’s parliamentary group, Bahçeli was asked about the proposal put forward by the President’s adviser, Mehmet Uçum, who has suggested 16 April 2028 as the date for supposed early elections in Turkey. Like Uçum, Bahçeli expressed support for the idea and – like him – emphasised that this date cannot in fact be considered an early election, as it would only be brought forward by a few weeks compared with the date originally scheduled.
“There is not even a time difference between holding the elections on the scheduled date and the date proposed by our President’s adviser,” Bahçeli stated when asked about the suggestion to bring forward the elections, initially scheduled for 7 or 14 May 2028. “The important thing is that the elections are held at the right time. Now is the time to clarify all the issues currently under debate and transform Turkey into a country that enjoys economic growth and is stable,” he said, as quoted by Halk TV.
Can Erdoğan stand for re-election?
Uçum’s proposal is in fact part of a wider debate aimed at allowing Erdoğan to stand again in the 2028 presidential elections. In this regard, Bahçeli dismissed speculation about possible alternative candidates within the electoral alliance formed by the AKP and the MHP: “That is not true. Our president remains in charge and we stand behind him,” he assured.
According to the Turkish Constitution, the President of the Republic may serve a maximum of two terms. Erdoğan has served as the country’s president for several terms since his first election to the post: first in 2014 under the parliamentary system (with Davutoğlu and Yıldırım as prime ministers, but with his powers severely limited by the Constitution), and subsequently – following the implementation of the presidential system via the constitutional referendum of 2017 – he stood as a candidate and won the 2018 presidential election.
Although by then he had already served two consecutive terms as president, the electoral authorities authorised Erdoğan to stand again as a candidate in the 2023 elections, on the grounds that his previous term from 2014 to 2018 did not count following the 2017 constitutional reform, which granted the President of the Republic executive powers and abolished the post of prime minister. Since then, various options have been mooted to enable the veteran Turkish politician to stand again as a candidate, ranging from a constitutional amendment to the more likely scenario of calling early elections in Türkiye before the scheduled date and – consequently – before the end of his second official term.
Erdoğan – who in April 2028 will be 74 years old – had stated shortly before the 2024 local elections that these would be his “last elections”; however, since then he has hinted on several occasions at the possibility of standing again in 2028 if asked to do so and if the necessary circumstances arise.
The proposal: presidential elections on 16 April 2028
The debate has been reignited following a proposal made by presidential adviser Mehmet Uçum: “Turkey needs President Erdoğan once again”, he wrote in an opinion piece published yesterday by the Turkish news agency Anatolia. “The question should be: under what social, political, economic and legal conditions can the elections be held again?”, he noted.
“President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan does not need a new constitution or constitutional reform to stand for re-election. The current constitution already allows for this. This possibility, which we refer to as an exceptional candidacy, comes into effect through a decision by the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye to call new elections a certain time before the general elections scheduled for 7 May 2028,” he wrote.
In his opinion piece, Uçum emphasised that “the country’s need for President Erdoğan to serve Turkey for another term”, both in domestic affairs and on the international stage “thanks to his extensive experience and his globally recognised effective leadership”, would justify this possibility.
“President Erdoğan to stand as a candidate (in the 2028 elections) and be elected would be a great contribution to Türkiye at this historic moment. In short, President Erdoğan does not need to be re-elected, but Turkey needs President Erdoğan once again”, concluded Uçum in his opinion piece, in which he also highlights “Erdoğan’s accumulated experience of leadership and his significant political influence on the world stage”, and suggests, regarding the bringing forward of the elections, that “a possible date could be Sunday 16 April 2028”.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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