Fears Erdogan may become dictator
TURKEY: Turkey’s Parliament yesterday kicked off debate on proposed constitutional amendments that would hand Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s largely ceremonial presidency sweeping executive powers and Erdogan himself the possibility of serving two more five-year terms.
Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for 14 years, has long pushed imbuing the presidency with greater political powers, arguing that strong leadership would help Turkey grow.
The main opposition party fears the reforms would concentrate too much power in Erdogan’s hands, turn the country into a de facto dictatorship and move Turkey away from democracy and its anchor in the West.
‘‘They are trying to turn the democratic parliamentary regime into a totalitarian regime,’’ said main opposition Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Debate on the set of amendments is expected to last two weeks. The reforms must clear two rounds of balloting in parliament, gaining at least 330 of the 550 votes.
If the package is approved by lawmakers, the government will submit it to a voter referendum for final approval.
The ruling party, founded by Erdogan, is 14 votes short of the needed 330 but has secured the backing of the nationalist party.
The changes would scrap the office of prime minister and make the president the head of the executive branch, as well as allowing him to appoint the government, dissolve Parliament, propose budgets and declare states of emergency. They would also allow Erdogan to serve another two terms, ending in 2029.
Currently, the prime minister leads the executive branch, while the president is mainly a figurehead with limited powers.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has expressed support for the constitutional changes. He said the new system would end a possible tug-of-war between his office and that of the president.
‘‘Two captains will sink the ship. There has to be a single captain,’’ Yildirim said.
The debate comes at a difficult time for Turkey, which has been rocked by a wave of terror bombings, renewed conflict with Kurdish rebels in the southeast, a military offensive in Syria and a failed coup attempt. – AP