Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 17
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
A referendum on amendments to the Constitution of Turkey was held in the country Apr. 16.
Some 51.4 percent of voters cast their ballots in favor of the amendments to the Turkish Constitution. Although there was no doubt that those who cast their ballots in favor of the amendments would make a majority, still nobody expected such results.
As it was expected, it was mainly supporters of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) who voted for the changes. Besides, it was expected that the supporters of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) would also vote in favor of the amendments.
Looking at the results of the voting, one can say that either the MHP leader Devlet Bahceli changed his position or the MHP members didn’t obey the political will of their leader, or, as the Turkish media jokes, Bahceli was the only one from his party who voted in favor of the amendments.
The Republican People’s Party (CHP) and, of course, the Democratic People’s Party (HDP) of Turkey voted against the adoption of the new constitution.
At the same time, despite some European countries blocked rallies and speeches of the Turkish ministers in support of the constitutional referendum, 63 percent of Turkish voters voted for the amendments in Germany, 71 percent – in the Netherlands, 65 percent - in France, 75 percent - in Belgium and 57 percent – in Norway.
The amendments to the Turkish constitution cover 18 points. The main amendments are as follows:
- The number of seats in the Turkish Parliament will increase from 550 to 600;
- Turkish citizens will be able to run for the MP seats from the age of 18 (earlier, the lowest age limit was 25);
- Parliamentary election will be held every 5 years (at present, the parliamentary election is held every 4 years);
- A Turkish citizen, no younger than 40, can be elected as president;
- President of Turkey will be granted the power to appoint ministers or remove them;
- The elected president can be a party member (current legislation doesn't allow this).
All of the above is publicly known, however, to understand the changes, they need to be further explained.
The number of seats in the Turkish Parliament will increase from 550 to 600.
In Turkey, it is not excluded that this is designed to facilitate the adoption of decisions in the country’s parliament. As practice shows, lack of votes in the parliament led to the non-adoption of several decisions, including the failure to adopt a new constitution in the parliament.
Turkish citizens will get permission to run for the MP seats from the age of 18.
This is one of the most actively discussed additions of the new constitution. The country’s government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan believe that the age limit of 25 was undemocratic and infringed the rights of the country’s youth. The opposition believes that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) wants to compensate for the lack of personnel.
The president will be empowered to appoint and dismiss ministers.
This is the clause that envisages the transition from the parliamentary system of government to the presidential system.
It is worth noting that creation of a new government headed by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on May 24, 2016, could already be considered as a first step towards a presidential system.
The president-elect can remain affiliated with a party.
Prior to the adoption of a new constitution, the newly elected president had to leave his party and become unaffiliated. It is possible that this clause of the new constitution will speed up the political competition between parties in Turkey. There are currently 27 political parties in the country that are eligible to participate in the elections.