It is the constitution that collapsed on August 10

In article 104, it says “The President of the Republic is the head of the State. In this capacity, he/she shall represent the Republic of Turkey and the unity of the Turkish Nation…”

The oath-taking article is 103. Its text says, “In my capacity as President of the Republic, I swear upon my honor and integrity before the Great Turkish Nation and before history… and perform without bias the functions that I have assumed.”

Yes, this column has written them numerous times. However, while we are nearing the elections, it has become a must to remind everybody who defends the constitution and rule of law about them. The reason for this is apparently what President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan refers to when he says, “It collapsed on August 10;” these articles of the constitution, in other words the constitution and the rule of law.

Even though he says he has equal distance from every political party, Erdoğan, while dragging the opposition leaders through the mud, speaks of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) leadership as if he was one of them.

When the opposition leader said, “We will change the law on discretionary funds,” Erdoğan asked him, “Where do you get that power from?” making another comment to be added to his list of freakish statements.

Erdoğan not only criticizes at open-air rallies but he finishes his speeches with the repetition ritual of the crowd, as he did while he was the AKP leader.

Not only his attitudes, but also his words – “I am equal to any political party; vote for whoever you want to but give me the 400” - annul the constitution.

The picture is very clear actually. The president, who has to be impartial, is threatening the safety of elections by directly interfering.

Those constitutional institutions that remain silent to this situation, one which can also affect the legitimacy of the elections domestically and internationally, are denying their own existence, aren’t they?

First of all, by keeping quiet, the Constitutional Court (AYM) and the Supreme Election Board (YSK)…

The office of the speaker of parliament cannot be regarded outside these institutions; the safety of the elections concerns this office before anyone else.

If Turkey is still a constitutional state, can any of these institutions come out and explain to us which presidential speech, on the eve of the elections, is impartial?

Or in parallel with what Erdoğan said, have the AYM, the YSK and the parliament also collapsed? We might as well remind him that it was himself who said, “Here is not Patagonia; here is rule of law.”

In a country where there is no election safety, no trace of democracy will be left.

For this reason, the opposition should do whatever it can, but the essential fact is this: The safety of the elections and the vote is the honor of the state, in other words the honor of the relevant institutions. Those who defend “democracy” should make a reminder of this persistently.