self-coup

plural self-coups

1. A coup d'état in which a lawfully elected head of state seizes power from the other branches of government.

   “This is repression. This is a crime. They’re committing crimes and violating human rights by stepping on the rights of people. The government has staged a self-coup and what they’re now doing to me is part of it,” Capriles said.

   2017 April 8, Rafael Romo, “Violent clashes in Venezuela as thousands protest socialist government”, in CNN, archived from the original on 29 Sep 2022

   1 more example

   After all, that would be akin to a self-coup. Apart from the traditional vision of a coup requiring a military takeover of the government, self-coups occur when governments depart from typical norms of democracy by altering election laws, calling into question election results or seeking to suspend their constitutions in order to stay in power.

   2022 January 19, Robert Alexander, “What 2020’s pro-Trump phony electors means for 2024”, in CNN, archived from the original on 16 Aug 2022

   Synonyms: autocoup, autogolpe