Erdoğan sheds light on Turkey’s new presidential system

ANKARA

With Turkey’s elections fast approaching, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shed light on the new presidential system of government late June 21.

Speaking during a joint live broadcast on private channels ATV and A Haber, Erdoğan mentioned what the new presidential system of government will bring.

“We will reduce the number of ministries to 16 in the presidential system of government,” he said.

Erdoğan also said four new offices would be established.

“In the first stage, four offices for Human Resources, Investment, Finance and Digital Transformation bear great importance under new model because they are almost the closest staff to the president,” he said.

The president also shed light on the new directorates to be established under the new model. 

“And also, of course, there are directorates to be affiliated to the presidency, and eight directorates are at stake here,” Erdoğan said, naming them as the Directorate of General Staff, Directorate of National Intelligence, Directorate of Defense Industry, National Security Council, Directorate of Religious Affairs, State Supervisory Council, Directorate of Communication and Directorate of Strategy and Budget.

Erdoğan also mentioned the changes in the economy under the new system.

“Economy administration will be simplified. We will reduce the number of ministries, which is six now, to three,” he said.

He also mentioned nine councils that will be created which will bring forward proposals for policies and submit reports.

Among them are the Social Policies Council, Health and Food Policies Council and Art Policies Council, Erdoğan said.

Asked what the motive was behind such a radical and new system, Erdoğan said some handicaps in the current system prevented them from implementing most of their work as they wished.

“The sluggishness of these structures [under the current system], which I constantly call ‘bureaucratic oligarchy’, the operations and processes in the institutions stand in our way,” Erdoğan said. “We aim to clear the way with the presidential system of government.”

Voters will head to the polls on June 24.

Six candidates are running for president while eight political parties are taking part in the parliamentary elections.