Erdogan adviser says Turkish president will run for 'final' third term in April 2028

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a meeting with Russia's president on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek on Sept. 1, 2026. — Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / AFP via Getty Images A senior adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Turkish leader will seek another presidential term and predicted that Turkey’s next elections will be held on April 16, 2028, bringing the vote forward by about a month and creating a constitutional path for him to run again.Mehmet Ucum, chief presidential adviser and deputy chair of the Presidential Legal Policies Council, said the date would fall on the anniversary of Turkey's 2017 referendum that approved the transition to an executive presidential system. His comments were reported by Turkish outlets including broadcaster NTV, Cumhuriyet and Yeni Safak.“I assume that the elections will be held on April 16, 2028. This is the date of the referendum on the transition to a presidential system, so it has symbolic significance. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will run for the final time,” Ucum told the Turkish Press Council, according to Turkish media reports.Turkey's next presidential and parliamentary elections are currently scheduled for May 14, 2028. Under Article 116 of Turkey's constitution, the parliament can vote to hold the presidential and parliamentary elections before the president's term expires. If parliament does so during the president's second term, the constitution allows the president to run once more. The move requires three-fifths of parliament, or 360 votes in the 600-seat legislature.Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its nationalist ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), do not have enough seats to reach the 360-vote threshold on their own and would need support from lawmakers outside their alliance.The government has not officially announced plans for a parliamentary vote on an early election, but speculation has swirled since Erdogan said on Sept. 10 that the AKP needed to prepare for the “approaching elections.” AKP spokesperson Omer Celik sought to downplay the comments on Tuesday, saying, “This is not a signal for an early election. There is currently no election on Turkey’s agenda.”Erdogan first became prime minister in 2003 and served three terms before being elected president in 2014. He was reelected in 2018 after Turkey transitioned from a parliamentary system to an executive presidential system following the 2017 constitutional referendum and won a second term under the new system in 2023.The country’s election board ruled in 2023 that Erdogan's first five-year presidential term under the current system began with his 2018 election, allowing him to seek reelection in 2023 despite having previously served as president from 2014 to 2018.Many rights groups are concerned by the treatment of Erdogan’s opponents. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a leading opposition figure and presidential candidate, was arrested in 2025 and remains imprisoned while facing corruption charges that he and his supporters reject as politically motivated. Human Rights Watch and other organizations have characterized the case as part of a broader crackdown on opposition in the country. Related Topics AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.