Bozdag described Erdogan’s candidacy as “his constitutional right,” saying that there are no legal or constitutional obstacles preventing him from practicing this right.
“Following the change in the governing system, our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was elected president on June 24, 2018, for the first time with the title of President as the executive body whose executive power belongs exclusively to him. For this reason, it is his second candidacy and constitutional right to run for presidency again in the May 14, 2023, presidential election,” read a statement from the minister.
On Tuesday, opposition parties Homeland (Memleket) and Turkey’s Workers’ Party (TIP) appealed to the country’s higher council of elections against Erdogan’s candidacy, arguing that the president cannot run for a third term.
The Turkish constitution states that an individual can be elected for a maximum of two terms of presidency; nevertheless Erdogan will be running for a third term in May, after being elected president in 2014 and re-elected in 2018.
Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) argues that Erdogan is eligible for a third run claiming that the Article in the constitution does not specifically apply in this situation.
“Legally there is no issue. Article 101, which grants the rights of two presidential terms, was issued on April 30, 2018. This will be our second election since that date,” said Mustafa Sentop, Turkey’s parliament speaker and a member of the AKP.
On the other hand, Erdogan announced on Wednesday that his current cabinet ministers will run for the parliament, in a measurement to avoid the repetition of the same ministers from his two previous terms, adding that the upcoming cabinet will include new names if he were to win in May.
The Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections are set to take place on May 14,, a month prior to its originally scheduled date of June 18.
In 2017, Turkey conducted a referendum on whether to approve 18 proposals of amendments to the Turkish constitution including changing the country’s system from parliamentary to presidential.
Erdogan is set to be challenged for presidency by leader of the Repbuclian People’s Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Memleket leader Muharrem Ince, and Sinan Ogan, candidate of the ultranationalist Ancestral Alliance (ATA).
Kilicdaroglu, viewed as the strongest opponent, takes on Erdogan at a time when the president’s popularity is at its lowest, according to the poll centers.
Kilicdaroglu, and his allies at the Nation Alliance, have vowed to abolish the presidency system and restore the parliamentary system if they were to emerge victorious from the elections.
By Azhi Rasul
