Fatma Zibak
Several days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the local elections on March 31 will be his “last” in line with the law, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç talked about the possibility of Erdoğan’s running for the presidency again if parliament calls early elections.
“If the Turkish parliament decides to call early elections, it will be possible for the president to run for the presidency for a third time. Let’s see, there’s still time,” Tunç told reporters on Tuesday when he was asked about Erdoğan’s recent remarks.
According to the Turkish Constitution, presidential and parliamentary elections are to be held simultaneously. The last time Turkey held elections was in May, when Erdoğan secured another term as president. The next general election is scheduled for 2028.
Erdoğan, who made the announcement at a pro-government foundation event on Friday, referred to the law as the reason for his potential departure from politics, leading to comments that he might consider running for the presidency again if the law is amended.
According to Turkey’s constitution, the president can only be elected for a renewable five-year term if the elections are held as scheduled. Erdoğan was first elected president under the parliamentary system in 2014.
Questions arose about whether Erdoğan could run for a third term due to a change in the system of governance in 2017, with some claiming he was not legally eligible to compete in the May election because he had already served two terms, with another one starting in 2018, and could not run for a third.
A constitutional referendum in 2017 turned the country into an executive presidency and thus expanded Erdoğan’s influence. Turkey’s election authority did not count Erdoğan’s term, starting in 2014, since it was under the parliamentary system.
According to Brussels-based lawyer Ali Yıldız, Erdoğan can continue to be elected president until he dies if parliament calls early elections before the end of every term.
“In the case of parliament calling early elections, that term of the president is considered incomplete, making another candidacy possible,” Yıldız told Turkish Minute.
The 600-seat Turkish parliament can call early elections only if three-fifths of the lawmakers — 360 MPs — support it.
Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has 264 seats in parliament, while its far-right ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), has 49, which make a total of 313, short of the required number of lawmakers to call early elections.
Erdoğan, however, is known as a master of establishing political alliances, even with his former political rivals, and can easily come up with the missing number of lawmakers to make holding early elections legally possible.
The 70-year-old Erdoğan has been at the helm of Turkish politics since 2003, first as prime minister and then as president.