Constitutional coup

Coup d'état consistent with a constitution
A constitutional coup occurs when a person or group seizes political power in a way consistent with their country's constitution, as opposed to a traditional violent coup d'état, often by exploiting loopholes or ambiguities in said constitution. Supporters of constitutional coups exploit their political power to semi legally seize more. Constitutional coups can be carried out in many ways, including removing term or age limits, changing electoral rules to hinder opposing candidates, and postponing elections indefinitely. Constitutional coups are often facilitated by weak democratic institutions and an absence of "democratic culture" within countries. Struggles between rival factions, particularly between ethnocultural or religious groups, are a common facilitator of constitutional coups. Another common strategy is for an incumbent to invalidate the candidacy of their opponent, making themselves the de facto winner.

In 1973, the Finnish Parliament extended Urho Kekkonen's presidential term by four years with a derogation law.

On April 15, the Bersatu Rakyat Jelata Sabah (Berjaya Sabah People's United Front) was victorious in the state elections over the ruling Sabah Alliance party by persuading dissent members of the Sabah Alliance party to abandon their leader, Tun Mustapha bin Datu Harun.

On November 7, the Prime Minister of Tunisia, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, deposed the president for life, Habib Bourguiba, and assumed the position of chief executive.

In 1990, when a law submitted by Roger Lallemand and Lucienne Herman Michielsens that liberalized Belgium's abortion laws was approved by Parliament, Baudouin of Belgium refused to give Royal Assent to the bill. The Government under Wilfried Martens in turn declared him unfit to rule Belgium on 4 April 1990. According to the provisions of the Belgian Constitution, in the event the king is temporarily unable to reign, the Government as a whole assumes the role of head of state. All members of the Government signed the bill, and the next day (5 April 1990) the Government declared that Baudouin was capable of reigning again.

During the United States presidential election debacle in Florida, then governor Jeb Bush called on the state legislature to simply ignore the contested vote count and give Florida's electoral college votes to candidate George Bush, a fellow Republican and Jeb Bush's brother. This is theoretically constitutional, as the US constitution does not guarantee the right to vote in presidential elections. Rather, it authorizes each state to determine how its electors should be chosen, although it is ambiguous whether, having already selected electors by vote in accordance with state law, the legislature can then overrule that determination. However, the move was ultimately blocked by the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court striking down a constitutional coup may seem like a contradiction in terms, as the coup no longer seems constitutional, per se. However, it is important to note that the "constitutional" element of constitutional coups refers more to the exploitation of ambiguity within democratic rule of law, not a truly legal process. This ambiguity, combined with enough political power, allows anti democratic seizures of power to occur under the guise of constitutionality.

Khadha Prasad Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal, had attempted to dissolve the Nepalese parliament. The dissolution was being challenged under three different petitions in the Supreme Court, and it was contested whether or not the Prime Minister actually has the power to dissolve parliament. K P Oli attempted the power grab during a legitimacy crisis, as rival factions seek his resignation due to poor governance and authoritarian impulses.