ANKARA
Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said the AK Party's "three-term rule", under which MPs can only spend three consecutive terms in office, is disputable.
Davutoglu made the statement during a dinner with AK Party's parliamentary members in Ankara on Friday, but added he supported parliament members who finished their third term in parliament for their loyalty.
Davutoglu said: "I know that when this rule was being set up, there were many disputes."
"The three-term-rule is disputable, but we cannot dispute one thing; our friends' loyalty to the party, who are finishing their third term as a parliament member."
"I have mentioned it several times. We all see our friends as democracy heroes," Davutoglu added.
The Prime Minister also said the party will invite those who finished their third term to play a mentoring role.
"We are thinking of establishing an experience-sharing unit inside the party," he said.
AK Party cannot make 73 of the parliament members eligible for the June 7 parliamentary elections because of the three-term rule.
Parliament speaker Cemil Cicek, Deputy Prime Ministers Ali Babacan and Bulent Arinc, Forestry Minister Veysel Eroglu and Besir Atalay are among those who come under the restriction.
