Can Erdogan Run for President?.. A Turkish constitutional expert answers
Much has been speculated and analyzed about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s eligibility to run in the upcoming presidential elections, on the one hand, constitutional experts assert that he cannot run for a third term, while the AKP-controlled House of Representatives claims that he may run, claiming that it will be his second term.
Arjun Osbudon, a constitutional lawyer, said: “The Turkish constitution is clear, and Erdogan should not run for a third term, according to the Turkish newspaper Zaman.”
Erdogan has no chance of running for a third term, the only exception is when the parliament decides to hold early elections with a three-fifths majority. Judging by the statements of the opposition wing, this is not possible. However, the decision will be made by the HEC, and it is predictable that its decision will be in Erdogan’s favor.
Commenting on the arguments that “Erdogan was elected once under the new presidential system of government,” Osbudon said, “This is not a valid legal argument,” recalling that the referendum on the constitution took place in 2017.
“No new constitution was created in 2017, the constitution was changed, all provisions that were not changed are permanent and valid, including the requirement that the president could be a candidate for two terms only,” Osbudon said. “One exception was made in 2017, which was the renewal of elections by a decision of members of the House of Representatives.”
During their meeting for the 11th time last Thursday, the leaders of the 6th opposition Table declared it illegal for Erdogan to be a presidential candidate on May 14th without a parliamentary decision to hold early elections.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop said there is no question that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will run for president in the upcoming elections.
“This is the first presidential term for President Erdogan and therefore there is no legal or constitutional objection to his candidacy,” Şentop said, stressing that “the issue of Erdogan’s candidacy is not the issue of the six-party table, but the issue of law and constitution.”
Regarding the candidacy for two presidential terms, we say very clearly that there are two legal provisions; The first began in 2007 and ended in April 2018, and the second began with the announcement of the election schedule that took place during the same year, after the transformation of the presidential system from the parliamentary one,” he said, noting that “based on this law, everyone has the right to run for two presidential terms. “This law started with the new government system and gave the right once again to all citizens to run for two terms, including those who served in a previous presidential term in Turkey. This is not limited to the current president, but also includes former presidents who spent two terms before this law.”
“In Turkey’s 2017 constitutional amendments, Article 101 of the Turkish Constitution has been changed, merged with Article 102 in the Constitution to become one, which defines a presidential candidacy,” Şentop said.
The speaker’s comments came in response to a statement issued during a meeting of the Six-Party Table last Thursday in which leaders of six opposition parties in Turkey announced their rejection of Erdogan’s candidacy for a second term.
