Why saying ‘he can’t be president’ is legal, fair and democratic

When he was sent to prison for reciting a poem, some said Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could not even be a muhtar (village head).

But this nation carried him the prime ministry.

It then made him president.

Now the question to be asked is this:

Is there no difference between saying “he cannot even be a muhtar” and saying “he can’t be the head of the state under a presidential system?” as Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş said this week?

Let me explain what they meant back when they said he “could not even be muhtar”:

“We take away your right to be elected, with all injustice, unfairness and illegality.”

Now let me explain the meaning of Demirtaş’s “he cannot be a president”:

“We do not accept and we will not accept a Turkish-style presidential system, where there will be no democracy or freedom, where there will be a one-man rule, where the separation of powers will be ignored and judicial inspection disrespected.”

In short, to the same degree that saying “he cannot even be a muhtar” is unfair, unjust, illegal and anti-democratic, the sentence “he cannot be president” is fair, legal, just and democratic.

They fear Demirtaş

If they did not fear him they would not join hands to attack him.

If they did not fear him they would not have attacked him with meaningless names like “Kemalist.”

If they did not fear him they would not grab onto the slogan “Öcalan is good/Demirtaş is bad.”

Two events in one day

Today, we have Newroz in Diyarbakır and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) congress in Ankara
This is not a coincidence. This was a conscious decision by the MHP.

The MHP does not want Öcalan’s message to be the only item on the agenda in Turkey.

It wants to balance the picture from Diyarbakır.

It wants to show symbolically what it is against.

It wants a showdown by enlisting important names to the party.

In short, the MHP is implementing a very smart and strategic tactic from its own perspective.

Numan Kurtulmuş: a strategic name within the AKP

I recently hosted Numan Kurtulmuş on my television program.

He has become a balancing factor within the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) with his rhetoric, approach, and standing.

Although he continues to emphasize his respect and affection for Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, I felt as if he was standing closer to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“When you were in the opposition you kept criticizing the government. Why have you defected to the government side?” is the most frequent criticism he faces. He defends himself with three points:

1. Whatever I said in the opposition, I continued to say in government.

2. In none of my criticism have I uttered a single word against individuals.

3. There are no differences in my views. What I said in the past I continue to say now.

The leadership experience that Kurtulmuş gained in the Saadet Party and the Has Party given him the ability to consider matters in an integrated way. This is why he can explain problems without getting bogged down in daily polemics.

I don’t know what will become of AKP in the future. But it looks like certain that NUman Kurtulmuş will be present in AKP’s future.