Turkish Opposition Leader Says Erdogan Cannot Run For Third Presidential Term

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the opposition Republican People's Party of Turkey, said on Tuesday that incumbent Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan could not run for a third presidential term according to the country's constitution, unless early general elections are held

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th February, 2022) Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the opposition Republican People's Party of Turkey, said on Tuesday that incumbent Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan could not run for a third presidential term according to the country's constitution, unless early general elections are held.

On Monday, Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli said that Erdogan would be a candidate of the ruling People's Alliance in the 2023 presidential election. The next general elections in Turkey are scheduled to be held this June. Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said there were no legal barriers for the incumbent president to join the presidential race. The spokesman also stressed there would be no early general elections either.

"Everything is clearly written in the provision of the constitution. If the elections are held on time, Erdogan will not be able to run for a third term. I mean that if the parliament decides to hold early elections, then there will be no obstacles to the nomination of Erdogan for a third time. Otherwise, if the elections are held on time, the constitution will not allow him to be a candidate," Kilicdaroglu said, as quoted by the Turkish daily newspaper Cumhuriyet.

At the same time, Kilicdaroglu expressed his hope for early elections.

"Let there be early elections and Erdogan will appear in front of me. This is my political appeal. The people have no more time to wait for elections. Early elections must be held immediately. This is my intention," Kilicdaroglu said, as quoted by the media.

In 2014, Erdogan won the first presidential election in the country. Four years later he was reelected for a second term.

In November, 2021, Turkish opposition forces accused Erdogan of incompetence after a dramatic fall of the national Currency and urged him to hold early elections. The president rejected the calls and reiterated that both presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in June 2023, as planned.

Recent polls show that high inflation and lira devaluation devastated Turkish middle-class income, which is the electoral basis of the ruling party.