Erdoğan Refers to 'Approaching Elections' in First Public Hint at Early Vote

Speaking to supporters in his family's hometown of Güneysu (Rize province), President Erdoğan said 'with God's will, I once again believe that we will definitely win the upcoming election' — the first time he has publicly characterized Turkey's next election as 'approaching' rather than reaffirming the scheduled May 14, 2028 date. He did not name a specific date or explicitly call for early elections. Under Article 116 of the constitution, a president who has served two terms becomes eligible to run again only if parliament — not the president — calls early elections during the second term; AKP and ally MHP hold roughly 326-328 of the 600 seats, short of the 360 needed. Opposition leader Özgür Özel responded that voters would 'change the government' rather than let Erdoğan 'get through' any election.