ISTANBUL, 21 March. (DPA/EP) –
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK) and its nationalist allies have officially presented to the Supreme Electoral Board the candidacy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the upcoming presidential elections on May 14.
However, the decision has reignited heated discussions about whether Erdogan is constitutionally authorized to run for a third term, something the opposition consider “legally impossible.”
This was stated on Tuesday by the spokesman for the opposition Democracy and Advancement Party (DEVA), Idris Sahin, who also added that the formation will appeal the candidacy of the Turkish president through the pertinent channels.
According to the Turkish constitution, a presidential term lasts for five years and a president can be elected for a maximum of two terms. Erdogan was first elected head of state in 2014 and was re-elected four years later, in 2018.
Erdogan, for his part, argues that his candidacy is legal, since the two-term rule was introduced in 2017, leaving aside his first four-year term as president of Turkey. In this context, international observers maintain that the presidential elections in May become the most critical in the country’s recent history.
After almost 20 years in power, Erdogan will compete at the polls in the midst of the country’s worst economic problems in decades, and notoriously aggravated by the devastating earthquakes registered at the beginning of February in the south of the country, as a result of those who have died. about 48,000 people.
On the opposition side, Erdogan’s main rival will be the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, who, backed by five other opposition parties and potentially a pro-Kurdish party, has renewed hopes to overthrow the current president.
