Erdogan signals a change to party statute

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday signaled his intention to seek a fourth term as party leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and thus paved the way to more terms for deputies from the party who have already served three terms. Speaking at an AKP provincial meeting in the central Anatolian city of Eskisehir, Erdogan said, "In accordance with the promise we had made, we were elected for the third and last time in the June 2011 parliamentary elections." Erdogan also said that everyone has the chance to become a deputy again after taking a one-term break and that this arrangement would find its place at the grand congress in Ankara on September 30. Accordingly, Erdogan signaled a change to the party statute that currently keeps deputies who have been elected to office three times from running for Parliament a fourth time