The advisor to the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pointed out this Thursday that the next presidential elections will be held on April 16, 2028, coinciding with the date of the 2017 referendum that transformed the Turkish political system into a presidential republic, and that the head of state will run again as a candidate for the last time.
Mehmet Uçum, advisor and vice president of the Legal Policies Council of the Turkish Presidency, specified that this date "has a symbolic meaning" for Erdogan, who expanded his powers as president in that consultation on constitutional reform.
In statements to the media collected by the news portal Daily Sabah, he reiterated that the leader will run for reelection in two years "for the last time."
According to Turkish legislation, elections should be held in May 2028, although the Constitution provides that Parliament can advance the electoral date if it gathers at least 360 of the 600 votes in the chamber.
Erdogan's party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), along with its partner, the ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), currently holds 326 seats, below the threshold required to force early elections.
If he ultimately runs and manages to win again at the polls, Erdogan would face his fourth term as president, after leading the country since 2014 and having previously served as prime minister since 2003.