Presidential Chief Legal Advisor Mehmet Uçum once again said that the next presidential election is set for March or April 2028, coinciding with renewed efforts to draft a new constitution.
'Now we have 18 months to go for the elections,” Uçum told reporters.
Uçum also said that the process toward a new constitution officially began on Oct. 1 and must culminate in a public referendum. “It’s now time to make a new constitution,” he said.
According to the election law, holding elections before May 14, 2028 requires an early election call by parliament, which is needed to allow President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to run for another term.
However, the ruling People's Alliance currently lacks the 360-seat supermajority needed in parliament to call early elections. They must secure opposition support to pass the measure.
Uçum’s remarks came after calls from MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli, who urged parliament on Oct. 6 to renew elections in 2028. 'A decision to renew elections should be taken in parliament with maximum consensus to allow President Erdoğan to run again,' Bahçeli said.
During his conversation with the journalists, he also said the government has already drafted a new press bill which would be submitted in November. While he was assuring that the working hours of press members would be designed, many journalist associations fear that the new regulation might further cut their rights since the bill is expected to be presented with the labor law.
