Bahçeli calls for Erdoğan to run again in 2028

ANKARA

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan should run in the next elections scheduled for 2028, pledging his party’s full support.

"I am in favor of our esteemed president continuing in his position, regardless of the circumstances. He should continue in 2028. If he considers running for president again, we, as the MHP, will give our full support," Bahçeli told daily Sabah in an interview published on Sept. 12.

Bahçeli, a key Erdoğan ally, praised the president’s leadership through the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt and its aftermath.

"There may be difficulties in social and economic matters, but these are not insurmountable," he said.

The MHP leader also called for the indictments of arrested mayors to be completed next month.

"If they are right, they should be acquitted, and if they are guilty, they should receive the necessary punishment. Indictments should be prepared within October, shared with the public and trials should begin," he said.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was arrested and suspended on corruption charges in March, previously welcomed Bahçeli’s demand for a swift judicial process.

Bahçeli has also backed broadcasting the hearings on state broadcaster TRT.

"CHP officials are insisting on broadcasting them. We don't see any harm in it," he said on Sept. 12. "Let the Turkish people see everything. It would be better for the public to reach a conclusion regarding the developments before the judiciary, rather than having their minds overwhelmed by the debates of five speakers in the evening."

Turning to the government’s "terror-free Türkiye" initiative, Bahçeli addressed the dismissal of Ahmet Türk, a mayor from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party).

"He contributed to establishing dialogue with PKK to ensure peace and stability in Türkiye," Bahçeli said of Türk.

"In such a situation, Ahmet Türk should be reinstated. He should be reunited with his municipality. He will contribute to the development of a sense of brotherhood and peace."

Türk has twice before been removed from office and replaced by government trustees.

He also voiced support for Ahmet Özer, the former CHP mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district, who was backed by the DEM Party in last year’s local elections.

"Similarly, Ahmet Özer... If Türkiye has entered a peace process, Ahmet Özer must be released. If there is corruption, he must also receive the necessary punishment. We must separate these two issues," Bahçeli said.

Özer, who faces charges of “tender rigging,” was earlier released in a separate case involving “membership in a terrorist organization” but remains in custody pending trial.