Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has given another clear signal of support for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to run again in the 2028 presidential election, arguing that there is no legal or constitutional obstacle to another candidacy.
Abdulhamit Gül, deputy chairman of the AKP parliamentary group, made the remarks in Sakarya during the party’s “Century of Türkiye Meetings”, linking Erdoğan’s political future to the wider debate over a new constitution.
AKP sees no legal obstacle
Gül said there was broad public support for Erdoğan to continue as president and insisted that another candidacy would not face a legal or constitutional barrier.
“One of the important points of consensus among our nation is that our president should continue his journey as president and lead Türkiye towards stronger leadership,” he said.
“There is no legal or constitutional obstacle to our president standing again.”
Gül argued that the process could create the political framework for the next presidential contest and expressed confidence that the Turkish parliament would respond to what he described as the expectations of the nation.
Bahçeli points to 2028 election
At the same time, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, Erdoğan’s political ally, pointed to 14 May 2028 as the date for the country’s general elections.
Bahçeli said that if the vote were held earlier, it should not be regarded as an “early election” but as a “renewal of elections”.
The ‘third crescent’
The MHP leader also used the image of three crescents to describe Erdoğan’s presidential terms, referring to his victories in the 2018 and 2023 elections as the first two.
“The president has completed two of the three crescents. He won the elections in 2018 and 2023. Now the third crescent remains,” Bahçeli said.
“Hopefully, he will complete the third crescent as well.”
The statements add to increasingly explicit calls from Erdoğan’s political allies for him to contest the presidency again in 2028, as discussions continue over the constitutional and political framework that could enable another candidacy.
