AKP proposes its version of presidential system

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

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The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has suggested a “Turkified version of the U.S. executive system” for Turkey, preserving the unitary structure with a single Parliament and giving extraordinary authorities to the president.

In the proposal presented by the AKP in the “executive” section discussions at Parliament’s Constitution Conciliation Commission on Nov. 20, the president and deputy president will be able to be elected twice, while their terms in office will last five years, just as is in the current system.

Authority to dissolve parliament

In addition, the president will have the authority to dissolve Parliament, while Parliament will also be able to bring down the president. In such an eventuality, both the president and Parliament members would have to be reelected.

The AKP’s deputy leader Hüseyin Çelik told reporters yesterday that the ruling party would not insist on the proposal if there was no consensus.

“We are short of 330 deputies. We cannot make it on our own,” Çelik said, referring to the 330 votes that are needed to take constitutional amendments to a referendum. “But this is not the end of the world. We will not abandon the constitutional committee’s work just because we cannot proceed with this issue. We will continue to actively work for the new charter.”

Çelik stressed that the AKP was still of the opinion that adopting the presidential system was necessary, but was simply keeping in mind the realities of the situation.

The president will be able to appoint or dismiss ministers, and ministers could also be elected as lawmakers, according to the AKP’s proposal.

In addition, the president will be able to be charged by the Constitutional Court. However, sending the president to the Constitutional Court will be possible only in the face of serious crimes such as treason, and only with a qualified majority from Parliament.

There will be a single Parliament and the country’s unitary system will be preserved.

Unlike the U.S. system, ambassadors and senior bureaucrats will be assigned by the president without the approval of Parliament.

The president will also have ordinance power, according to the proposal.