Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he will not make another bid for the presidency of Turkey. He is in his second and final term, but also wants a new constitution. Critics suspect that Erdogan wants to make a third term possible after all.
“We don’t want a new constitution for our own gain, but for the country,” Erdogan says. “I have no interest in re-election or running again,” the president said via his office on X.
Erdogan already announced last year in the run-up to the local elections (which were lost by Erdogan and his party) that the elections would be his last.
At the same time, he also said that he would no longer be eligible under the current rules. This left room for a possible constitutional amendment that would allow a re-election.
In recent months, doubts have been sown again. Not only by Erdogan himself, but also by the ultranationalist party MHP. That is the junior partner of the AKP of the president. The MHP insists that Erdogan must remain in power. The president himself left room by stating that he might be able to continue as long as his supporters want it and his health allows it.
Kurdish Support Should Make a New Constitution Possible
There is currently no majority in the Turkish parliament for a new constitution or a constitutional amendment. But Erdogan and his people are hoping for support from the Kurds, a population group without their own state. That is why the MHP started a charm offensive last October.
This resulted this year in negotiations with the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK). This militant movement, which is seen by, among others, the United States and the European Union as a terrorist group, announced earlier this month that it would dissolve itself.
The PKK hopes and expects that the Turkish government will in return work to reduce the decades of neglect of the Kurds. For example, by respecting fundamental rights and anchoring additional (fundamental) rights in a new constitution. The work on and negotiations about such a new constitution have not yet started.
Erdogan is already in his third term, but he and his party say that the counter was reset in 2018, when a presidential system was introduced in Turkey. The next presidential elections are scheduled for 2028.