While succeeding in securing a third term despite Turkish laws, the Greek newspaper “I Kathimeriní” revealed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to stay in power for life through legislative amendments.

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An analysis by ‘I Kathimeriní’ titled “Recep Tayyip Erdogan Prepares to Stay in Power for Life” explained that the Turkish president aims to strengthen his authority by making changes to the election law and the constitution. The analysis, presented by Manolis Kostidis, stated that Erdogan told journalists upon his return from a one-day visit to Germany on November 17: “The commitment to (50+1) leads parties down the wrong paths.” Additionally, there are speculations that Erdogan intends to change the constitutional article that specifies the president’s term to two terms, each lasting (5) years.

The analysis mentioned that through these moves, Erdogan wanted to enhance his power further without relying on the support of his ally in the previous elections, the Nationalist Movement Party. Erdogan’s goal is to no longer depend on nationalists, thus saving himself from budgetary burdens, as reported by the Turkish newspaper “Zaman.”

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The newspaper pointed out that despite his harsh stance against Israel in the Gaza war and his support for Hamas, Erdogan does not actually want to sever ties with the West.

With Erdogan receiving (49.50) of the votes in the first round, Turkey held a second round of presidential elections between Erdogan and Kemal Kılıcdaroglu, the former leader of the Republican People’s Party.

According to the Turkish newspaper, Erdogan‘s plan does not even garner support from his closest allies, as the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bahceli, the electoral ally of President Erdogan, opposed Erdogan’s efforts to change the (50+1) electoral rule.

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During a parliamentary party bloc meeting, Bahceli said: Erdogan‘s statements are meaningful, but the opinions of the Nationalist Movement Party on this matter are known to everyone and have not changed. Bahceli added that the (50+1) electoral rule is the foundation of the democratic legitimacy of the current system and evidence of plurality.

It seems that Bahceli fears losing the benefits of his alliance with the Justice and Development Party if the latter no longer needs his support in the elections.