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Erdogan Ally Floats Türkiye Constitutional Amendment to Let Him Extend His Tenure

Türkiye’s President and leader of Justice and Development (AK) Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends an election campaign rally in Istanbul on March 24, 2024, ahead of the March 31 municipal elections. (AFP)
Türkiye’s President and leader of Justice and Development (AK) Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends an election campaign rally in Istanbul on March 24, 2024, ahead of the March 31 municipal elections. (AFP)
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Erdogan Ally Floats Türkiye Constitutional Amendment to Let Him Extend His Tenure

Türkiye’s President and leader of Justice and Development (AK) Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends an election campaign rally in Istanbul on March 24, 2024, ahead of the March 31 municipal elections. (AFP)
Türkiye’s President and leader of Justice and Development (AK) Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends an election campaign rally in Istanbul on March 24, 2024, ahead of the March 31 municipal elections. (AFP)

The main political ally of longstanding Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that a constitutional amendment should be considered to allow the president to run again in elections set for 2028.

After his re-election last year, Erdogan is serving his last term as president unless parliament calls an early election, according to the constitution. He has ruled Türkiye for more than 21 years, first as prime minister and then as president.

"Wouldn't it be a natural and right choice to have our president elected once again if terror is eradicated, and if a heavy blow is dealt to inflation and Türkiye secures political and economic stability," said Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which is allied with Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP).

A constitutional amendment to secure Erdogan's ability to re-run in the presidential elections should be considered, he said in a parliamentary speech to MHP lawmakers.

Bahceli, a staunch nationalist, rattled Turkish politics last month by suggesting that the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) could be allowed to speak in parliament if he announces an end to the group's insurgency.

Some analysts said the shock suggestion might be motivated by an AKP-MHP desire to win the support of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, parliament's third-biggest, for a constitutional change that could boost Erdogan's prospects in 2028 elections.

A constitutional change can be put to a referendum if 360 lawmakers in the 600-seat parliament back it. An early election also needs the support of 360 MPs.

AKP and its allies have 321 seats while DEM has 57.

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Aid Rushes Into Myanmar after Quake Kills Over 1,600

A monk walks past damaged houses in Mandalay on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
A monk walks past damaged houses in Mandalay on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
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Aid Rushes Into Myanmar after Quake Kills Over 1,600

A monk walks past damaged houses in Mandalay on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
A monk walks past damaged houses in Mandalay on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)

Myanmar's neighbors sent warships and aircraft laden with relief materials and rescue personnel on Sunday, as international aid gained steam after a massive earthquake ravaged much of the poor Southeast Asian nation.
At least 1,600 people have been killed and 3,400 injured by Friday's 7.7-magnitude quake, one of Myanmar's strongest in a century, its military government said.
"All military and civilian hospitals, as well as healthcare workers, must work together in a coordinated and efficient manner to ensure effective medical response," said the junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, according to state-run media.
The US Geological Service's predictive modelling estimated Myanmar's death toll could top 10,000 and losses could exceed the country's annual economic output, Reuters reported.
The quake jolted parts of neighboring Thailand, bringing down an under-construction skyscraper and killing 17 people across the capital, according to Thai authorities. At least 78 people remained trapped under the debris of the collapsed building.
The deadliest natural disaster to hit Myanmar in years damaged critical infrastructure, including an airport, highways and bridges, slowing humanitarian operations, according to the United Nations.
The quake hit a nation already in chaos with a civil war that has escalated since the 2021 military coup, which ousted the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and sparked a nationwide armed uprising.
The fighting has battered the largely agrarian economy of Myanmar, formerly called Burma, displaced over 3.5 million people and left essential services, such as healthcare, in tatters.
The opposition National Unity Government, which includes remnants of the previous administration, said anti-junta militias under its command would pause all offensive military actions for two weeks from Sunday.
"The NUG, together with resistance forces, allied organizations and civil society groups, will carry out rescue operations," it said in a statement.
In some of the country's hardest hit areas, residents told Reuters that government assistance was scarce so far, leaving people to fend for themselves.
The entire town of Sagaing near the quake's epicenter was devastated, said resident Han Zin.
"What we are seeing here is widespread destruction - many buildings have collapsed into the ground," he said by phone, adding that much of the town had been without electricity since the disaster hit and drinking water was running out.
"We have received no aid, and there are no rescue workers in sight."
Across the Irrawaddy river in Mandalay, a rescue worker said most operations in the country's second-largest city were being conducted by small, self-organized resident groups that lack the required equipment.
"We have been approaching collapsed buildings, but some structures remain unstable while we work,” he said, asking not to be named because of security concerns.
Scores of people were feared trapped under collapsed buildings across Mandalay but most could not be reached or pulled out without heavy machinery, another humanitarian worker and two residents said.
"People are still stuck in the buildings, they can't take people out," said a resident who asked not to be named.
Hospitals in parts of central and northwestern Myanmar, including Mandalay and Sagaing, were struggling to cope with the influx of injured people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
India, China and Thailand are among the neighbors that have sent relief materials and teams, along with aid and personnel from Malaysia, Singapore and Russia.
Indian military aircraft made multiple sorties into Myanmar on Saturday, including ferrying supplies and search-and-rescue crews to Naypyitaw, the purpose-made capital, parts of which have been wrecked by the earthquake.
The Indian army will help set up a field hospital in Mandalay, and two navy ships carrying supplies are heading to Myanmar's commercial capital of Yangon, said Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Multiple teams of Chinese rescue personnel have arrived, including one that crossed in overland from its southwestern province of Yunnan, China's embassy in Myanmar said on social media.
A 78-member team from Singapore, accompanied by rescue dogs, was operating in Mandalay on Sunday, Myanmar state-media said.