Bahçeli had supported it: Dervişoğlu responds to the Palace's election date move

İYİ Party Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu answered journalists' questions regarding the agenda following the group meeting held at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM).

When asked about the April 16, 2028 date proposed by Chief Advisor to the President Mehmet Uçum for the presidential election and the evaluations made by MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli on the subject, Dervişoğlu stated, "Mr. Bahçeli did not say the election is on time. He expressed that there is not even an hour's difference between the date determined by Mehmet Uçum and the date the election would normally be held. I agree with him as well."

Arguing that moving the election date forward by a short period could be presented as an "early election," Dervişoğlu assessed, "I am of the opinion that this nation will not consent to a perception operation that attempts to deceive the people by calling an election held 10 or 20 days early an 'early election'. Another chess game is being played."

PROPOSAL OF APRIL 16, 2028 FOR ELECTION DATE

Chief Advisor to the President Mehmet Uçum had stated in an article he wrote regarding early election debates that general elections could be held on Sunday, April 16, 2028.

Uçum had used the following expressions in his article:

"It can be foreseen that in the six-month period covering the last quarter of 2027 to the first quarter of 2028, the issue of renewing the elections will focus on which day the elections will be held. One of the possible days is Sunday, April 16, 2028.

For the upcoming general elections to be held on Sunday, April 16, 2028, it is sufficient for the TBMM to decide to renew the elections at an appropriate time before the normal election day of May 7, 2028, in the last legislative year of the 28th Term. When the TBMM takes this decision, President Erdoğan already gains the right to be a candidate for the last time by benefiting from the exceptional candidacy according to the current constitution.

If there is no legal change regarding the duration one year before the general elections to be held in the upcoming period, according to the Presidential Election Law, the election is held on the first Sunday following the sixtieth day after the decision to renew the elections. Accordingly, if the TBMM decides to renew the elections on any of the days falling between February 9 and February 15 in 2028, the election will be held on Sunday, April 16, 2028, as required by Law.

If the TBMM takes such a decision, holding the general elections on April 16, the day of the referendum in which the Presidential Government System was accepted, that is, on the eleventh anniversary of the referendum, also carries a strong symbolic meaning."

SUPPORT MESSAGE FROM BAHÇELİ

MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli also stated in his remarks regarding Uçum's proposal, "There is not even an hour's difference between the date given by our President's advisor and the elections being held on time. What is important is that the elections are held on time."