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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chief adviser, Mehmet Ucum, said he expects Türkiye's next elections to be held on April 16, 2028, and that Erdogan will run for the presidency for the final time, speaking at an event organized by the Turkish Press Federation.
"I foresee elections being held in 2028, on April 16. This date marks the anniversary of the referendum on our transition to the presidential system. Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be a candidate for the last time," Ucum said.
The top adviser said the chosen date carries symbolic weight.
"This date is the referendum date of our transition to the presidential system. It has symbolic meaning," he said, adding elsewhere: "The anniversary of the transition to the Presidential Government System is April 16."
Voters in Türkiye went to the polls on April 16, 2017, to decide whether to approve changes to the country’s constitution, including a shift from the current parliamentary system to a presidential one. The "Yes" campaign won with 51.41%, while the "No" vote stood at 48.59%, with 48,936.604 valid votes and an 85.43% turnout.
With the constitutional changes, the president received wide-ranging executive powers; the post of prime minister was abolished.
The president was also allowed to retain ties to a political party.
He said he considers it unlikely that elections would be held in the final quarter of 2027, suggesting a vote in March or April is more probable.
Ucum, who also serves as head of the Presidential Legal Policy Board, said the election date depends on a decision by parliament, adding, "If a decision is made to renew elections with 360 members of parliament, the election will be held on April 16, 2028."
Ucum's remarks followed comments from Erdogan himself, who told constituents in Rize: "I renew my confidence that we will successfully get through the approaching elections."
That comment had reignited speculation about an early election.
Türkiye's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) spokesman Omer Celik pushed back on such speculation on Sept. 15, saying: "There is currently no election on Türkiye's general agenda."
Celik, addressing whether Erdogan's remarks signaled an early vote, said: "When our president makes an assessment like 'we are preparing for the upcoming elections,' it is clear that this has nothing to do with an early election in any way. His way of coming up and his style of doing politics are about organizational work and continuously building on it, brick by brick, every day. So when he sees our citizens and our organizations there, this is actually a sentence he often repeats and places great emphasis on: 'We are preparing for the upcoming elections and we will achieve great success.' This is not a signal of an early election. There is currently no election on Türkiye's agenda."
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