Devlet Bahçeli, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s far-right ally, on Tuesday denied claims that he could trigger early elections, calling the speculation “a lie and clamor” designed to undermine his party.
Bahçeli, who heads the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), responded to growing rumors that he could withdraw his party’s support from Erdoğan and call for early elections, leveraging the MHP’s kingmaker role in parliament.
“Those who attempt to drag our party into debate with the lie and clamor of early elections, and those rotten minds trying to read intentions with their tiny intellects are wasting their efforts,” Bahçeli said in a written statement.
“The decision of the Nationalist Movement Party and the People’s Alliance is final,” he added, referring to his party’s electoral alliance with Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). “Elections will be held on schedule, and there will be no compromise,” he said.
Turkey’s next general election is officially scheduled for 2028. However, rumors of growing friction within the ruling alliance — particularly over the future of a renewed peace initiative with Kurdish militants — has sparked debate over whether Bahçeli might once again force early elections, as he did in 2002 and 2018.
Political tensions have intensified since March, when the government launched a crackdown on the main opposition party and arrested İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Erdoğan’s main political rival, triggering protests in major cities.
In an interview with T24 news website, Mümtaz’er Türköne, a pundit with ties to Bahçeli, recently suggested that Erdoğan’s unwillingness to embrace judicial reforms could lead Bahçeli to pull support and call early elections in an effort to preserve the emerging reconciliation with Kurds.
Türköne described the process as a “new nation-building project” that depends on restoring the rule of law and the constitutional order — conditions he argued Erdoğan is reluctant to accept.
Bahçeli’s latest remarks appear to be a direct response to such speculation.
The MHP controls a critical bloc of seats in Turkey’s 600-member parliament, giving it the ability to sway legislative decisions and stabilize Erdoğan’s government.
While denying the election rumors, Bahçeli reaffirmed his support for a resolution to Turkey’s decades-long conflict with Kurdish militants. He urged the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to dissolve itself, referencing the February 27 call from imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan for the militant group to lay down arms and disband.
“The PKK must convene its congress and complete its process of dissolution,” Bahçeli said. “The era of bloody, unlawful weapons must end. This cannot be delayed.”
Bahçeli also took aim at the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and its leader Özgür Özel, accusing them of undermining national stability and engaging in “hostile politics.”
Referring to recent comments by Özel about “declaring war” on Erdoğan’s authoritarianism, Bahçeli issued a blunt warning.
“If you’re looking for someone to declare war on, we’re right here,” he said. “We have the power and capability to show you how it’s done.”
Although Bahçeli attempted to shut down the early election rumors, Turkey’s political climate remains volatile, with the economy in crisis and public trust in government eroding.