Turkish opposition leader says Erdogan may announce early elections

The leader of Turkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, didn’t rule out that incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could announce early presidential elections, Report informs referring to Karar newspaper.

He said that Erdogan may take such a step in order to be able to run for a third presidential term.

The opposition has repeatedly demanded early elections in Turkey, but Erdogan responded by saying that they would be held in June 2023, as planned. Representatives of the opposition bloc, which unites six parties, also argue that the current president, according to the law, cannot stand as a candidate for a third presidential term.

The newspaper reminds that, according to the changes adopted in Article 101 of the Turkish Basic Law in a referendum in 2017, the same person cannot hold the presidency more than twice. Erdogan was twice elected president - in 2014 and 2018, therefore he is deprived of the opportunity to participate in elections again. At the same time, according to Article 116 of the constitution, the president, elected for a second term, can re-nominate his candidacy if the parliament decides to hold early elections.