Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that he does not intend to run for re-election as head of state. Current Turkish law limits the president to two terms in office. However, he said that the country still needs a new constitution “proposed by civilians.”
Erdogan noted that the current Turkish administration is concerned about how to improve the country’s reputation. According to the Turkish president, under the current circumstances, it is impossible to achieve anything with a constitution that was created during a coup in the old Turkey.
“We need a constitution proposed by civilians,” he said.
Commenting on the opposition’s calls for snap elections, the Turkish leader noted that “there is no need for this.”
“Looking at the current composition of the parliament, there is no situation that requires an interim election. Two years ago, the people elected deputies to serve for five years,” he stressed.
The Turkish constitution was adopted by a national referendum on November 7, 1982 after a coup d’état, when the country was ruled by the armed forces for three years. The current document limits the number of presidential terms to two.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been president of Turkey three times since 2014. However, as the country only transitioned to a presidential system of government in 2018, his first term was not counted, and his last term began in 2024 and will last until 2028.
