ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended a Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group meeting at the Grand National Assembly in Ankara on June 10, 2026. This gathering followed a May 21 appeals court decision that reinstated Kemal Kilicdaroglu as leader of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

The court's decision in May annulled the results of an internal leadership election for the CHP and removed Ozgur Ozel from the party's leadership. After the court's ruling, Turkish stock markets declined, and protests occurred in Turkish cities. Kilicdaroglu had previously led the CHP through parliamentary elections from 2011 to 2023 and lost the most recent Turkish presidential election to Erdogan.

Erdogan first gained national political power in 2002 alongside the AKP. He served as Prime Minister of Turkey for 11 years before becoming Turkey's first directly elected president in 2014. A 2017 constitutional referendum shifted executive authority from parliament to the presidency. This change granted the president the authority to draft legislation, appoint senior officials, ratify treaties, and command the armed forces.

Erdogan was re-elected as president in 2018 and again in 2023. In 2024, the CHP won Turkish municipal elections. Ekrem Imamoglu won the mayoral election in Istanbul, but was arrested in 2025 on corruption charges and has been detained awaiting trial since then. These charges carry a combined potential sentence of over 2,300 years. Criminal investigations in Turkey have resulted in the arrest of hundreds of opposition politicians.

The Turkish constitution limits the presidency to two five-year terms. The next Turkish presidential election is scheduled for 2028. The constitution includes provisions for constitutional amendments and early presidential elections. However, Erdogan and the AKP do not currently hold the parliamentary supermajority required to amend the constitution or call an early election.