Ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has denied reports that it is preparing to reduce the 10 percent threshold in national elections required for a party to obtain seats in Parliament Today`s Zaman reported.
The 10 percent threshold is a key issue in the country and highly criticized as an obstacle to greater representation of citizens.
News portal ntvmsnbc.com reported on Thursday that the lawmakers of the AK Party are working on a draft bill to reduce the threshold to 7 or 8 percent. Many think such a change in the electoral system will have a positive effect on the ongoing settlement process launched last year by the government to solve the country's long-standing Kurdish conflict. It is widely thought that the threshold was put in place to prevent Kurdish parties from entering Parliament.
AK Party Deputy Chairman Mehmet Ali Shahin told Today's Zaman that it has not been on agenda on any executive bodies of the party.
The Republican People's Party (CHP) and pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which managed to enter Parliament in 2009, have frequently called on the government to lower the electoral threshold.
The 10 percent threshold came into force when the Sept. 12, 1980 coup regime adopted the 1982 Constitution. The military regime argued that political instability at that time had resulted because the Political Parties Law then in force lacked an election threshold.