Turkey's Erdogan angles to retain power despite denying plans for third term
As Turkey's president touts democratic reform, critics say he’s laying the groundwork to bypass term limits.
Today marks the second anniversary of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reelection as president of Turkey and if all goes to plan, the country’s most consequential leader since soldier-turned-statesman Kemal Ataturk will remain at the helm for the foreseeable future.
On Tuesday, Erdogan announced that he had appointed a team of legal experts to work on a new constitution that he argues will give Turkey a true democracy. Critics charge it will be tailored to allow him to stay on beyond 2028, when his second term expires. The current document, featuring a 2017 amendment that Erdogan himself introduced to deflect claims that he is determined to rule for life, says that presidents can only serve twice.
Erdogan, 71, denies that he will seek a third term. “I have no intention of being reelected or running for president again. We only care about improving our country’s image,” he told reporters on the way back from Hungary last week. The crafting of a new constitution would be a purely selfless exercise, of course.
“For 23 years, we have repeatedly demonstrated our sincere intention to crown our democracy with a new civilian and libertarian constitution,” Erdogan told members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Tuesday. “We want the new constitution not for ourselves, but for our country,” he said. Tell that to Ekrem Imamoglu, the ousted mayor of Istanbul who is consistently touted by pollsters as the one Turkish leader certain to beat Erdogan in any election.
