ANKARA—Three MPs from opposition parties joined the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) last week, shifting the distribution of seats in parliament as Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared 2026 as the “year of reform”.
“We will bring reforms that touch the lives of our people, ranging from protecting our children from digital threats to reviewing our social assistance system,” Erdoğan told AKP members on Jan. 7.
The statement echoes recent headlines about pending age restrictions for social media sites in Turkey. New measures are also expected to help citizens cope with the rising cost of living, though lawmakers in Ankara foresee deeper structural reforms in the year ahead.
Officials told Turkey recap the seat changes signal renewed efforts by the AKP to bring long-discussed constitutional amendments onto the parliamentary agenda in the coming months.
The most anticipated reforms come in two varieties. One involves legislation to advance the ongoing PKK peace talks. The other centers on extending presidential term limits for Erdoğan and succession-related procedures—as recently reported by Turkey recap.
