Opposition prioritizes changing system: Akşener

ANKARA

Turkey urgently needs a legal system based on separation of powers, not individuals, İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener said on March 30, stressing that this debate is much more important than the possible presidential candidate of opposition parties.

Addressing her lawmakers at the parliament, Akşener recalled that six opposition parties had joined their forces to introduce a “strengthened parliament system.

“As we say that the main issue is the system. They persistently ask the same question: ‘Who is your candidate?’ I have said it many times, and I am saying it again. Our candidate will be the 13th president of the Republic of Turkey. It’s that clear,” she said.

“They say that meetings without a candidate are meaningless. However, our objection is precisely against this. The problem is this head structure itself. We did not come together to designate a new ‘one man’,” she said. Akşener emphasized that instead of the executive presidential system, the opposition discusses the ways and methods of how to implement a legal system based on the separation of powers.

“Despite our institutional and intellectual differences, as six political parties, we have taken a very important step in this direction,” the politician said, adding that meetings of these parties’ leaders in order to discuss the details of the system have been “bothering” the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

“This picture bothers the components of the People’s Alliance because the polarization policy they have carried out so far has disintegrated and because their comfort is broken,” Akşener stated.