This longing should end, Turkish justice minister says on Erdoğan’s return to party

ANKARA

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Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has commented on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s possible return to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), saying that “this longing has to end.” 

Before being elected as president in 2014, Erdoğan was the leader of the AKP.

“The return of the leader of this cadre, which founded the AKP, formed its bylaws and program, made it jump from success to another success and transformed Turkey into one of the strongest countries in the world, would make the AKP members very happy. We are waiting for our president; this longing should end,” Bozdağ told state-run TRT Haber on April 24, adding that Erdoğan can officially return to the party after referendum results are published on the Official Gazette. 

“There is still a rule that says, ‘the president’s relation to his party will be cut’ in the Presidential Election Law, no adaptation change was made, but even if no changes took place, the constitutional changes explain this very clearly. That rule in the Presidential Election Law became a dead rule. It’s seemingly there, but it got meaningless in real life. Our president will be able to return to his party after the official results are published on the Official Gazette,” he said. 

Some 51.4 percent of the more than 58 million Turkish voters said “yes” to the constitutional amendment package in a tight race to decide on whether to shift to an executive presidential system.

With “yes” votes gaining the majority, the way for Erdoğan to return to lead the AKP, something that was officially forbidden in the former system due to the constitutional impartiality of the president, was opened.

When asked when the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) were set to start duty, Bozdağ said its members will be determined within 30 days and the HSK will start its duty after the 40th day, adding that if the Supreme Election Board (YSK) announces the official results at the end of the month, the election of the members would be concluded in May. 

Bozdağ also commented on adjustment laws, saying that nearly all of the issues made necessary by those laws are technical and mandatory, thus the parties do not have the chance to make a different preference. 

“The parties know that interventions will be made for the adjustments to the laws on political parties and elections. Changes can be made on other issues with this opportunity. Different views may emerge on several issues. We prepared our drafts regarding adjustment laws and will share them with the public. We’ll meet with the parties during a commission and at the General Assembly. We are not saying, ‘The formula we present is the most valuable one.’ They’re all technical issues,” he added.