Turkey's Erdogan rewriting constitution to be president for life? Here's what we know

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently appointed a team of legal experts to draft a new constitution amid reports suggesting that this might be his attempt to be president for life. Justifying the necessity of a new constitution, Erdogan stated that the current document stands "outdated" and has "elements of military influence" from the 1980 coup. Reacting to reports claiming that he wants to run for presidency again, Erdogan said that he has “no interest in being re-elected.”

"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,” the Turkish president told reporters.

However, it is to be noted that under the current constitution, Erdogan cannot run again unless he calls for an early election or the legal framework is changed. As per the current constitution, a Turkish president can stay in office for a five-year term and for two consecutive terms. Erdogan has been the leader of Turkey since 2003 and his term will end in 2028.

Erdogan's move is largely seen as a step to secure his position as he is trailing in all opinion polls. However, his party does not have the numbers required to change the constitution. Critics are linking his step to his statement in January earlier this year when he said that he would run for another term. He is known for curbing dissent and in March 2025, Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, was detained by Turkish authorities, prompting widespread protests in the country.

"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 administrators on Tuesday.