Erdoğan’s presidential system model equals dictatorship: Turkish main opposition

ANKARA

CHP Deputy Parliamentary Group Chair Akif Hamzaçebi. AA Photo

The presidential system model proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will make Turkey into a “dictatorship” under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Parliamentary Group Chair Akif Hamzaçebi has claimed.

“The country where the presidential system is best put into practice is the United States. But the powers given to [President Barack] Obama are seen as insufficient [by the AKP]. Obama has no power to dissolve Congress, but Erdoğan’s wants this power. This is a system uniquely designed for Erdoğan, which will drag Turkey into a dictatorship,” Hamzaçebi told reporters at a press conference on Jan. 29.
He recalled that Erdoğan’s spokesperson İbrahim Kalın recently said there was an “ongoing study” regarding the

presidential system model, which Hamzaçebi said would allow Erdoğan to rule the country through presidential decrees, bypassing parliament.

“This kind of thing does not exist in any presidential system. Kenan Evren wanted a special presidency for himself through the 1982 constitution, and now Erdoğan wants a presidency unique to himself. This is called dictatorship,” he said, referring to the former chief of general staff who led the 1980 coup d’état and later was elected president in 1982.

Hamzaçebi also cited a number of recent surveys indicating that nearly 80 percent of the Turkish people were against changing from a parliamentary to a presidential system. He added that the way the debate has been revived shows that Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is the “puppet of Erdoğan.”

“Mr. Davutoğlu, what will you be asking for in your election campaign? You will not be asking votes for yourself, I guess. You will be demanding votes for Erdoğan’s presidential system,” Hamzaçebi said.       
Turkey’s parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in June.