2028 Turkish presidential election

The next Turkish presidential election is scheduled to be held no later than 7 May 2028, as part of the general election for that year. The first round will be held concurrently with the next parliamentary election.

2028 Turkish presidential election

← 2023 By 7 May 2028 2033 →

Candidate TBD TBD TBD Party AK Party CHP DEM Alliance People's Labour and Freedom   Candidate TBD Fatih Erbakan Party İYİ YRP

Results by province

Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan AK Party

The incumbent president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is constitutionally term-limited, but there is speculation that the ruling People's Alliance may circumvent this provision by fielding a constitutional amendment or by calling a snap election.^[1][2][3]

Background

2023 elections

Main article: 2023 Turkish general election

The previous Turkish general election took place on 14 May 2023, the second since a presidential system replaced the existing parliamentary one following a controversial 2017 referendum which narrowly approved amendements to the constitution.^[4][5] The 2023 election was mainly contested between incumbent president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the opposition Nation Alliance candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu of the Republican People's Party (CHP). Both candidates earned 49.5% and 44.8% of the vote respectively in the first round, triggering a runoff on 28 May for the first time since direct elections for the presidency were instituted in 2014.^[6][7] Erdoğan went on to win with 52.18% of the vote.^[8]

In March 2024, Erdoğan said that he would step down from the presidency once his third term ends in 2028 and that he will retire from politics on that same year.^[9]

Electoral system

The President of Turkey is directly elected through the two-round system, under which a candidate must obtain a simple majority (more than 50%) of the popular vote to be elected. If no candidate secures an overall majority outright, then a runoff is held between the two most voted-for candidates from the first round, the winner of which is then declared elected. The first direct election to the Turkish presidency was held in 2014, after a referendum in 2007 abolished the previous system under which the head of state was elected by the legislature chamber, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The President of Turkey is subject to term limits, and may serve at most two five-year terms.^[10] If snap elections were held before the end of the second term, a third term would be permitted.^[11][12] Snap elections can be held either with the consent of 60% of the MPs in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey or ordered by presidential decree. Only snap elections via the consent of the Grand National Assembly during a president's second term can allow the president to serve a third term.^[13]

Prospective presidential candidates must be at least 40 years old and must have completed higher education. Any political party that has won 5% of the vote in the previous parliamentary election can put forward a candidate, although parties that have not met this threshold can form alliances and field joint candidates as long as their total vote share exceeds 5%. Independents can run if they collect 100,000 signatures from the electorate.^[14] Elections are overseen by the Supreme Election Council (YSK).^[15]

Candidates

Declared

• Ahmet Davutoğlu – Prime Minister of Turkey (2014–2016) and chairperson of the Future Party (2019–present)^[16]
• Fatih Erbakan – Chairperson of the New Welfare Party (2018–present)^[17]
• Sinan Oğan – Member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (2011–2015) for Iğdır, presidential candidate in 2023 (Ancestral Alliance)^[18]
• Ümit Özdağ – Chairperson of the Victory Party (2021–present)^[19]

• 
  Former Prime Minister
  Ahmet Davutoğlu
• 
  Chairperson of the New Welfare Party
  Fatih Erbakan
• 
  Former Member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
  Sinan Oğan
• 
  Chairperson of the Victory Party
  Ümit Özdağ

Publicly expressed interest

• Ali Babacan – Chairperson of the Democracy and Progress Party (2020–present)^[20]
• Muharrem İnce – Chairperson of the Homeland Party (2021–present), presidential candidate in 2018 (Republican People's Party) and 2023 (Homeland Party)^[a][21]

• 
  Chairperson of the Democracy and Progress Party
  Ali Babacan
• 
  Chairperson of the Homeland Party
  Muharrem İnce

Potential

• Mansur Yavaş – Mayor of Ankara (2019–present)^[22][23][24]
• Ekrem İmamoğlu – Mayor of Istanbul (2019–present)^{[25][26][27][28]}
• Müsavat Dervişoğlu – Chairperson of the Good Party (2024–present)^[29]

• 
  Chairman of the board and the chief technology officer of Baykar
  Selçuk Bayraktar
• 
  Mayor of Ankara
  Mansur Yavaş
• 
  Mayor of Istanbul
  Ekrem İmamoğlu
• 
  Chairperson of the Good Party
  Müsavat Dervişoğlu

Declined

• Özgür Özel – Leader of the Main Opposition and Chairperson of the Republican People's Party (2023–present)^[30]

• 
  Leader of the Main Opposition and Chairperson of the Republican People's Party
  Özgür Özel

Notes

1. İnce withdrew from the race 3 days before the election, however his name remained on the ballot.

References

1. "The Question of Erdoğan's Succession". Foreign Policy Research Institute. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
2. Arkan, Merve (29 May 2023). "New York Times sordu: Erdoğan 2028'de gidecek mi?". Sözcü (in Turkish). Retrieved 3 January 2024.
3. "Süresiz başkanlık! Cumhur İttifakı, Erdoğan'ı 2028'de yeniden aday yapmanın yolunu arıyor". Cumhuriyet (in Turkish). 30 September 2023. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
4. Morris, Chris (25 June 2018). "Turkey elections: How powerful will the next Turkish president be?". BBC. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
5. Shaheen, Kareem (16 April 2017). "Erdoğan clinches victory in Turkish constitutional referendum". The Guardian. Ankara. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
6. Hubbard, Ben; Harman, Gulsin (14 March 2023). "Nail-Biter Turkish Election Goes to Round 2 as Majority Eludes Erdogan". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
7. Kirby, Paul (15 May 2023). "Turkey's Erdogan appears to have upper hand after tense night". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
8. "YSK Başkanı Yener: Erdoğan Cumhurbaşkanı seçilmiştir" (in Turkish). NTV. 28 May 2023. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
9. "As Erdoğan hints at retirement, how has his rule shaped Turkey?". The Conversation. 12 March 2024.
10. Dopico, Alex (6 November 2021). "Does Turkey have term limits?". janetpanic.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
11. Ertan, Nazlan (18 January 2023). "Erdogan picks historically charged date of May 14 for Turkey's crucial election – Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
12. "Opposition Future Party says in contact with 40 lawmakers of ruling AKP". Gazete Duvar (in Turkish). 13 January 2022. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
13. "Türkei: Erdogan kündigt vorgezogene Wahlen am 14. Mai an". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
14. "Anayasa değişikliği maddeleri tam metni | Yeni anayasa maddeleri nelerdir?" (in Turkish). CNN Türk. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
15. Böge, Friederike. "Wahl in der Türkei: Zweifel an Erdogans Führung". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Archived from the original on 14 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
16. "Davutoğlu: İlk genel seçimde cumhurbaşkanı adayı olacağım". Gazete Duvar (in Turkish). 10 December 2023. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
17. "Yeniden Refah Partisi lideri Fatih Erbakan adaylığını açıkladı!". Cumhuriyet (in Turkish). 13 September 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
18. "Sinan Oğan'dan 2028 kararı: Şimdiden ilan ediyorum, adayım". TGRT Haber. 6 June 2023. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
19. "Zafer Partisi Lideri Ümit Özdağ: 2028'de Cumhurbaşkanı Adayıyım". Tamgatürk (in Turkish). Retrieved 5 October 2024.
20. "BABACAN: HER SİYASİ PARTİNİN GENEL BAŞKANI DOĞAL ADAY". ankahaber.net. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
21. "TV 100 ekranlarında Erdoğan Aktaş'ın Canlı Yayın Konuğuyum". Muharrem İnce Youtube. 7 September 2023.
22. Mynet. "Mansur Yavaş için 2028 senaryosu! "Doğal cumhurbaşkanı adayıdır" diyen İsmail Saymaz, 1 Nisan'ı işaret etti". Mynet Haber (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
23. "Özgür Özel CHP'nin Cumhurbaşkanı adaylarını açıkladı!". T24 (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
24. Mynet. "Mansur Yavaş'ın bu ifadesi uzun uzun konuşulacak! Salonda 'cumhurbaşkanı adayı' ol çağrısı geldi, yanıtı net oldu". Mynet Haber (in Turkish). Retrieved 16 July 2024.
25. "Ekrem İmamoğlu hedefini açıkladı: Cumhurbaşkanlığına bir kez daha göz kırptı". Ensonhaber (in Turkish). 8 October 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
26. "Tuğçe Erçetin: 'Ekrem İmamoğlu 2028 formülünü işletebilirse Erdoğan'ı üçüncü kez yenebilir'". Gazete Duvar (in Turkish). 22 August 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
27. Selvi, Abdulkadir (15 August 2023). "İşte İmamoğlu'nun 2028 stratejisi". Hürriyet Daily News (in Turkish). Retrieved 26 February 2024.
28. "Kulis: 'İmamoğlu bu seçimde İBB, 2028'de cumhurbaşkanlığını hedefliyor'". Artı Gerçek (in Turkish). 14 August 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
29. "'2028'in Cumhurbaşkanı' diye anons edildi, Dervişoğlu: İnanan bizimle yürüsün, inanmayanın yolu açık olsun". Politikyol (in Turkish). Retrieved 22 July 2024.
30. "Cumhurbaşkanı adayı olacak mı? CHP lideri Özgür Özel net konuştu". Dünya Gazetesi (in Turkish). 5 October 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2024.