Turkish opposition working to abolish presidential system

Shaimaa Yahia

There is a lot of confusion on the Turkish political stage, with the country’s opposition parties working to abolish the presidential system which was implemented following the 2018 elections.

The political parties also call for the reinstitution of the parliamentary system.

Abolishing the presidential system will be a strong blow to the ruling Justice and Development Party which is headed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Several political parties, including the Republican People’s Party, are working to bring the presidential system down. The system gave Erdogan unlimited powers and allowed him to take decisions without returning to the Turkish parliament. The same system tied the hands of the legislature and gave the executive power the chance to manipulate the judiciary.

The presidential system is one of the most controversial issues on the Turkish political stage. This issue can be a good entry for the opposition to bring down Erdogan’s regime which has been ruling Turkey since 2002.

Corruption

The presidential system gave the Turkish president massive powers. It allows him the right to issue decrees and laws without returning to the parliament.

Since taking over, Erdogan issued 31 decrees to amend previous laws. This has negatively affected all sectors in Turkey.

The Turkish opposition accuses the presidential system of being responsible for the deterioration of conditions in the country. It also accuses Erdogan of manipulating everything in Turkey, having bringing all important institutions under the oversight of the Turkish presidency. The same manipulation has affected the economy and Turkey’s economic ranking.

Repression

Erdogan cracked down on all freedoms, especially press freedoms as he gave journalists in his country a very hard time. The Turkish president accuses opposition newspapers and media outlets of terrorism. In 2019, Turkey was the world’s top jailer of journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In the same year, American NGO, Freedom House, categorized Turkey as one of the least free states in the world, against the background of deteriorating incarceration conditions in it.