Erdogan, who has been at the helm of Turkey for 20 years, speaks for the first time about his exit from power

International – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has led the country for more than twenty years, spoke for the first time about his departure from power on Friday, March 8. The Turkish President said during a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky: “I continue to work without stopping. We run without breathing because for me it is the final one. With the power given to me by law, this election is my last election..

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was Turkey's prime minister from 2003 to 2014, before becoming president for the past 10 years. Regarding his departure from power, he made this clear “And what results will be a blessing to my brothers who come after me. There will be a transfer of confidence.” Statement comes 22 days before the elections to a gathering of the Turkish Youth Foundation (TÜGVA).

The main issue for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is to reclaim Istanbul, the country's main city and economic capital, which passed into opposition hands in 2019 and whose mayor himself was Erdogan in the 1990s. İmamoğlu, of the AKP (conservative Islamist Justice and Development Party), appointed former Environment Minister Murat Kurum.

Erdogan, who has been 70 years old since February 26, was re-elected as head of state for a five-year term last May, in the second round of voting. For the first time since he was elected President of the Republic by universal suffrage in 2014. After changing the constitution and establishing the presidential system, he was re-elected twice as head of state, in 2018 and 2023.

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