Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the country should switch from being ruled by the parliament to the president. The Turkish population will elect the president directly on August 10, according to the 2007 referendum. There are three candidates for president: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, OIC ex-Head Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and Chairman of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Selahattin Demirtas.
Togrul Ismail, a docent of the Faculty of International Relations at the TOBB University of Economics and Technology, reminded that the Cabinet had previously attempted to scrap the parliamentary system. They had failed to get enough votes. National elections for the president, who will serve for 5 years, give the post a much greater status. The Constitution, according to Ismail, does not give the president much authority.
The expert noted that Turgut Ozal and Suleyman Demiral had been examples of powerful politicians taking the president’s post and being in the center of attention. Ahmet Necdet Sezer was, on the other hand, an example of a quiet president people know little of. Ismail added that Abdullah Gul was a bright figure but had always been secondary because Prime Minister Erdogan had always been active.
Shaban Kardash, the head of the Center for Strategic Studies of the Middle East, said that the elections were essential and will decide the fate of the country. He reminded that the Justice and Development Party had been criticized after the recent local elections. The expert noted that the party had always been successful in finding public support. He believes that Erdogan has very good chances of winning and will probably use the opportunity to strengthen his personal power.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the country should switch from being ruled by the parliament to the president. The Turkish population will elect the president directly on August 10, according to the 2007 referendum. There are three candidates for president: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, OIC ex-Head Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and Chairman of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Selahattin Demirtas.Togrul Ismail, a docent of the Faculty of International Relations at the TOBB University of Economics and Technology, reminded that the Cabinet to had attempted to scrap the parliamentary system before. They had failed to get enough votes. National elections of the president, who will serve for 5 years, give the post a much greater status. The Constitution, according to Ismail, does not give the president much authority.The expert noted that Turgut Ozal and Suleyman Demiral had been examples of powerful politicians taking the president’s post and being in the center of attention. Ahmet Necdet Sezer was, on the other hand, an example of a quite president people know little of. Ismail added that Abdullah Gul was a bright figure but had always been secondary because Prime Minister Erdogan had always been active.Shaban Kardash, the head of the Center for Strategic Studies of the Middle East, said that the elections were essential and will decide the fate of the country. He reminded that the Justice and Development Party had been criticized after the recent local elections. The expert noted that the party had always been successful in finding public support. He believes that Erdogan has very good chances to win and will probably use the opportunity to strengthen his personal powe
