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YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) of Turkey Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu negatively talked about the constitutional changes expected in Turkey during the party meeting, Hurriyet reported.
“By giving so much power to one person we will lead Turkey to adventure”, he said.
He mainly expressed concern about the expected change in the new constitution according to which the country’s President will appoint 12 out of 15 members of the Constitutional Court which will totally eliminate the independence of the judiciary.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said the contact between the MPs and citizens will be broken in case of presidential system in the country. This will be a great disaster for Turkey’s already endangered democracy.
“The new constitution cannot solve issues faced by Turkey such as terrorism, unemployment, the necessity of appreciation of Turkish lira and the tense relations with neighbors, and Turkey will become a country like North Korea where one person speaks, the remaining 80 million people listen”, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said.
The proposal on constitutional changes, adopted by Turkey’s Parliament, has been submitted to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for approval on February 3.
Under the constitutional changes, the country will be transformed to a presidential system. The number of MPs will become 600 from 550. MPs can be elected at the age of 18, rather than 25.
The elections of the parliament and the president will be held every 5 years on the same day. The country’s president can be a party member.
In case of committing a crime, investigation will be allowed to launch against the president by the proposal of the absolute majority of the MPs. The president can appoint and dismiss the Vice-Presidents and Ministers. The establishment of Ministries will be decided by the President’s decrees.
A decision can be made to hold new elections by the 3/5 votes of the MPs. In this case again the elections of the parliament and the president must be held the same day.
The next election of Turkey’s parliament and president is expected to be held on November 3, 2019. The number of members of the Constitutional Court will be decreased to 15 from 17.