As the opposition pushes for an early election, Erdoğan has hinted that he intends to run again in the 2028 elections. Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party) says the president should continue “serving the people.”
Ahmet Büyükgümüş, deputy chair of the AK Party, said in an interview with broadcaster Kanal 7 on Sunday that Erdoğan should be nominated for the presidency. Büyükgümüş said an early election is only technically possible if Parliament decides upon it with the votes of 360 lawmakers.
AK Party officials earlier noted that an election may be planned just months before the original date, not this year or next, as the main opposition called for. “The date can be rescheduled. Parliament, as a representative of political will, will decide on it,” Büyükgümüş said.
Rescheduling the election will also pave the way for Erdoğan's eligibility for the presidency if he is nominated before ending his tenure, which began in the 2023 elections. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) is a proponent of an early election and, at one point, called for the vote to be held in the spring of 2026. The party is overly confident of a win, especially after an unprecedented victory at the 2024 municipal elections.
Under Türkiye’s current election law, the next general election is scheduled for May 2028, while local elections are due in March 2029. An early election can be approved only by Parliament. The AK Party, even with its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), falls below the number of members in the assembly required for an early election call.
Erdoğan has been largely quiet on his future candidacy, though he admitted he’d be open to running again if the public supports him. As for the early election, he said last May that an early election may disrupt Türkiye’s stability.
