Turkey’s Erdogan to run again in 2028, top adviser says

A top adviser to Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the Turkish leader would run again in an early election likely to be held in April 2028, media outlets report.

“If 360 lawmakers back a decision to call a new election, it will be held on April 16, 2028,” Mehmet Ucum says in remarks cited by private NTV broadcaster and Cumhuriyet newspaper.

Under Turkish law, an election would normally be held in May that year. But the constitution allows parliament to trigger early elections if such a move has the support of 360 of the Turkish parliament’s 600 lawmakers, which would open the way for Erdogan to seek another term.

Erdogan’s ruling Islamo-conservative AKP and its nationalist ally MHP control 326 seats in parliament.

Until now, the government has repeatedly insisted elections will be held on schedule. Erdogan, 72, who came to power as prime minister in 2003, was elected president in 2014 after serving three terms as premier.

Following Turkey’s switch to an executive presidential system, he was reelected in 2018 and again in 2023. He is limited to two terms unless a snap election is called.

When he was reelected for what he said would be his final term in May 2023, amid growing concerns over Turkey’s economic outlook, Erdogan vowed to entrust the country’s future to “our youth.”