, has said elections could be held by October 2027, signaling the possibility of an early vote and urging his party to be prepared amid shifting political dynamics in the country.){kind=link}
Özgür Özel, the leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has said elections could be held by October 2027, signaling the possibility of an early vote and urging his party to be prepared amid shifting political dynamics in the country.
Turkey is scheduled to hold a general election in 2028, but speculation about an earlier vote has persisted for months.
Speaking to Sözcü TV, Özel said the CHP will launch a nationwide campaign on May 4, mobilizing tens of thousands of members for door-to-door outreach across all 81 provinces.
He said the party has identified 186,000 party representatives for polling stations, with more than 100,000 set to begin fieldwork next week.
The campaign will focus on promoting CHP policies while addressing what Özel described as judicial pressure on the opposition and worsening economic conditions.
“We must act as if elections could happen at any moment,” Özel said, warning that political developments could trigger an early vote.
Leaders of the ruling bloc have repeatedly dismissed such scenarios. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said recently that elections would be held as scheduled in 2028, reiterating earlier remarks that no elections of any kind before 2028 are on the government’s agenda.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, Erdoğan’s ally, has also ruled out any change to the election timetable.
Turkey’s constitution limits the president to two terms but allows another candidacy if parliament calls early elections. Such a decision would require at least 360 votes in the 600-seat parliament, meaning the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its political ally, the MHP, will need support from opposition parties.
Özel said the campaign marks a new phase for the CHP, with local party organizations taking a more active role ahead of a wider election push expected next year.
The term limit issue remains a central point of debate. Following a 2017 referendum that introduced an executive presidency, the government has argued that Erdoğan’s 2018 election marked his first term under the new system and his 2023 re-election his second.
Opposition figures and some legal experts dispute that interpretation, saying Erdoğan has effectively been elected three times — in 2014, 2018 and 2023 — and that another candidacy would raise constitutional concerns.
Erdoğan has led Turkey since 2003, first as prime minister and later as president, making him one of the country’s longest-serving leaders.
The CHP, which scored a major victory in the March 2024 local elections, has faced mounting legal and administrative pressure since then.
More than 20 CHP mayors have been jailed at various times, while at least 25 have been suspended from office, according to local media reports. Some municipalities have been placed under trustee rule, while control of others has shifted through city council votes or party defections.
Among those affected is İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a senior CHP figure, who was jailed in 2025 after his detention triggered widespread protests.
CHP officials say the measures have weakened the party’s control of municipalities following its 2024 election gains, while the government says the investigations are based on legal grounds.