Top court's ruling won't affect presidential powers, says minister

ANKARA

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç has reassured that presidential powers will remain intact despite the Constitutional Court's annulment of key provisions of a decree law granting the president expanded authority.

Earlier this week, the top court revoked key parts of a decree law (KHK) that allowed the president to appoint university rectors and dismiss the Central Bank governor before the end of their terms.

The ruling mandates that these regulations require legislative action by the parliament within a year to create new legal frameworks.

"Comments that our president's appointment and other powers arising from the constitution, laws and presidential decrees within the scope of the new government system are invalid or ignored, as claimed in various media, are unreal," Tunç stated on June 7.

The minister said, according to Article 104 of the constitution, the president retains the duty to appoint upper-level public administrators.

"The Presidential Decree on the appointment procedures of upper-level public administrators is in force," he added.

Following the Constitutional Court's decision, Mehmet Uçum, the presidency's deputy head of legal policies, addressed the issue on social media.

Uçum also asserted that the president's powers remain intact under Presidential Decree No. 3 and maintained that the president's authority to appoint university rectors, which stems from a constitutional article, cannot be revoked.