Turkey's Erdogan says he has 'no interest in being re-elected'

Long-time leader is seeking to change the country's constitution

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Tirana, Albania, in May. Reuters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that he has no interest in being re-elected as president.

“We want the new constitution not for ourselves but for our country. I have no interest in being re-elected or becoming a candidate again," Mr Erdogan told journalists on the plane after visiting Hungary, state news agency Anadolu reported.

Turkey's 71-year-old leader made the remarks as he pushes for moves to change the country's constitution, to create what he described as a "civilian" framework and not one "written by coup plotters".

The country's current constitution was ratified following a coup in 1980 − one of many military takeovers in the country's modern history.

"Let's set up our commissions, create the civilian constitution as soon as possible and present it to our nation," said Mr Erdogan, who has been in power as Prime Minister and President since 2003. "Let it be both national and local. Let Turkey see such a constitution."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Budapest. AFP

Mr Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) swept to power more than two decades ago and sought to develop Turkey's infrastructure and economy. He gained great popularity among pious Muslims who saw him as pushing back against limitations on religious expression imposed by previous governments.

But in recent years the AKP and Mr Erdogan have faced increasing opposition as the economy has nosedived and inflation has soared, eroding the spending power of many Turks.

Civil constitution

Any changes to the constitution do not necessarily mean that Turkey will hold early presidential elections, which are currently scheduled for 2028. Turkey's main political opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), has been pushing for an early vote, although its prime candidate is currently detained on corruption charges which he denies.

"If they spend the time they waste on early election calculations on serving the nation, maybe they can find a way to enter the hearts of the nation," Mr Erdogan said.

With more than two years before scheduled elections, who will eventually run remains unclear. Mr Erdogan has previously suggested he may try to stand for re-election. “If you’re in, I’m in too," Mr Erdogan said in remarks alongside a famous Turkish singer earlier this year.

It is unclear if any constitutional changes Mr Erdogan is pushing for will allow for greater rights for Turkey's Kurdish minority. They have been pushing for reforms as part of an opening between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a militant group that is viewed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara, the EU and the USA.

The PKK has said it will lay down its weapons, but wants changes to the constitution to allow it a basis for political activity in Turkey – a demand that faces stiff opposition within the country.

The Turkish government has described the process as aiming at a "terror-free Turkey" and ending a 40-year conflict that has cost the lives of tens of thousands of people on both sides.

People feed seagulls as they sail through Bosphorus on a ferry in Istanbul. Reuters

"I don't think he wants to run many more years, but despite all the massive developments he made at infrastructure and others, he wants to leave a civil constitution, terror-free Turkey," a senior AK Party official told The National.

Critics in Turkey have long said that Mr Erdogan wants to change the constitution to allow him to run for a third term as president.

However, Mr Erdogan's remarks were framed as him not seeking re-election but rather introducing a constitution that would serve Turkey.

The current presidential system, which was introduced in 2018, stipulates that the country's leader can be in office for only two terms. Allowing them to serve a third term would require the abolition of the two-term rule, which requires more votes than the number of MPs in Mr Erdogan's ruling coalition with the ultranationalist MHP.