Rapporteur says Gül’s term should be 7 years

ANKARA

A Constitutional Court rapporteur yesterday submitted a report detailing his recommendations regarding the debate over President Abdullah Gül’s term in office. The report says that Gül’s term should be seven years, dealing a blow to the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

The CHP had filed a lawsuit at the top court to seek the annulment of a law that fixed Gül’s term in office to seven years. However, the rapporteur said this demand should be dismissed by the Constitutional Court, CNNTürk reported yesterday on its website.

Although the report is not binding for the court members, decisions usually come in favor of such rapporteur opinions.

The report will now be distributed to the Constitutional Court members and the court will announce a ruling on a date to be set by court chief Haşim Kılıç.

Parliament elected Gül for a single seven-year term in 2007, but a charter amendment enacted since then limits presidents to two five-year terms. The opposition has argued that the amendment is binding for Gül. The Justice and Development Party (AKP), however, insisted that the amendment could not be implemented retroactively to shorten Gül’s original tenure. In January the government passed a law fixing his term at seven years. The CHP then applied to the Constitutional Court seeking the annulment of the law.