President For Life? Turkey’s Erdogan Appoints Legal Team To Draft New Constitution

Last Updated:May 29, 2025, 16:11 IST

The Turkish leader, who is serving as President since 2014 and was Prime Minister for more than a decade before that, has advocated for a new constitution.

Recep Erdogan needs the support of pro-Kurdish political parties if he wants to run again in Turkey's next presidential election, due in 2028. (Reuters Photo)

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that he has appointed a team of legal experts to start working on a new constitution.

The critics say that this decision by Erdogan, who is known for using electoral malpractices to stay in power, could allow him to remain in power beyond 2028, when his current term ends.

The Turkish leader, who is serving as President since 2014 and was Prime Minister for more than a decade before that, has advocated for a new constitution arguing that the current one, which was drafted following a military coup in 1980, is outdated and retains elements of military influence even though it was amended several times.

“As of yesterday, I have assigned 10 legal experts to begin their work, and with this effort, we will proceed with the preparations for the new constitution. For 23 years, we have repeatedly demonstrated our sincere intention to crown our democracy with a new civilian and libertarian constitution," Erdogan told his ruling party’s local administrators in a speech as quoted by news agency Associated Press.

Under the current Constitution of Turkey, Erdogan cannot run again unless he calls for an early election or the legal framework is changed. Hence, critics see the push for a new constitution as a possible path for his re-election, allowing legal changes that would bypass the constitutional term limits.

Erdogan’s ruling party and its nationalist allies lack the votes needed to usher in a new constitution. Some analysts believe the government’s recent effort to end the decades-long conflict with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is part of strategy to gain the support of a pro-Kurdish party in parliament for the new charter.

Amid all these accusations, Erdogan denied that he was trying to change the constitution to stay in power. “We want the new constitution not for ourselves, but for our country. I have no interest in being re-elected or running for office again," he said.

Meanwhile, Erdogan has already started employing tactics of curbing the voices of dissent. Earlier in March this year, Ekrem Imamoglu, the popular mayor of Istanbul and a key Erdogan rival was arrested by Turkish authorities on corruption charges.

His arrest has been widely viewed as politically motivated although the government insists Turkey’s judiciary is independent and free of political influence. It triggered widespread demonstrations calling for his release and an end to Turkey’s democratic backsliding under Erdogan.

Imamoglu is not the only opponent Erdogan has unleashed his wrath upon. This month, Turkey arrested 65 soldiers and police officers over suspected connections to the late preacher Fethullah Gulen, who was accused of orchestrating the failed coup attempt back in 2016.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Turkey

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