Erdogan's candidacy in Türkiye's upcoming presidential elections legal, says expert

By Sinan Uslu

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye's sitting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is eligible to run for reelection in the country's upcoming elections, expected to be held on May 14, an expert told Anadolu on Monday.

"In the second phase of the Constitutional Amendment Law that changed the government system, the candidacy of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was elected president for the first time in the presidential government system on June 24, 2018 after the two-term limit came into effect on April 30, 2018, will be the second in the election that is expected to be held on May 14, 2023," Seref Iba, an associate professor of law at Haci Bayram Veli University in the capital Ankara.

Iba's remarks came after Türkiye's six-party opposition bloc challenged Erdogan's eligibility to run in the elections, pointing to the two-term limit enshrined in the country's Constitution.

In a joint statement, the six-party group, composing of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Good (IYI) Party, Felicity Party (SP), Future Party (GP), Democrat Party (DP), and Democracy and Progress (DEVA) Party, underlined that since Erdogan was elected president in 2014 and 2018, he therefore could not run for a third time.

"In line with the provisions of the Constitution and the law, which leave no room for perplexity, it is not possible for Erdogan to be a candidate in the elections to be held on May 14, unless parliament decides to renew elections," the statement read.

Article 3 of Türkiye's Presidential Election Law says that if the assembly decides to renew elections in the second term of a president, he or she may stand for reelection one more time.

Article 3 in the Presidential Election Law, if the assembly decides to renew elections in the second term of the president, the president may stand for elections one more time.

Erdogan's Justice and Development (AK) Party and its ally the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) made it clear that the counter began when Türkiye switched to the presidential form of government in 2017, making the president eligible for another term.

"Unfortunately, bringing the debate to the agenda and its timing serves to instrumentalize the law to lay the groundwork for allegations of a 'shady election'," Iba said.

He added that presidents in Türkiye are customarily counted by name, not by the number of their elections. "When Erdogan was elected for the first time under the new system, the mandate was corrected upon application."

Erdogan on Saturday slammed the six-party bloc for not naming their joint candidate, saying: "They saw that they can't nominate anybody. This time, they started slandering my candidacy."

"The constitutional amendment adopted in 2017 with the discretion of our nation is so clear that it does not allow for the slightest hesitation or discussion. Türkiye switched to a new government system with the 2018 elections. So in that respect, it reset the stopwatch. The president elected in 2018 was the first president of the new system, by reason, law, and de facto."