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| The Grand Turk |
| After polls, Erdogan takes next step toward wielding greater power |
| 2015-11-05 |
| [Hurriyet] Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... has overtly presented the creation of a new constitution that would pave the way for a transition to a presidential system as the number-one item on the agenda of the newly elected legislature. " ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's need to solve the issue of a new constitution was one of the most important messages of Nov. 1. The nation is waiting for this," Erdogan said Nov. 4, during a group of neighborhood and village heads (muhtars) at the first of such regular meetings held at his presidential palace since the Nov. 1 snap elections. Although Erdogan this time did not directly referred to his long-held, naked ambition to create an executive presidential system, earlier in the same day, his presidential spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin, said Turkey was considering holding a referendum on changing from a parliamentary to a presidential system. "I hope that they won't fail to make contributions for preparations for a new constitution in the new period and sit down at the table and solve this issue," Erdogan said, calling on all political parties that will be represented in parliament after the Nov. 1 snap elections. Erdogan also noted that he had already discussed the issue at a meeting with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Nov. 3. As a matter of fact, Davutoglu already raised the issue publicly early on Nov. 2, addressing thousands of people who waited for hours in the cold to hear him speak from the balcony of the headquarters of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara. Hailing the result of the Nov. 1 vote which endowed his party with a legislative majority sufficient to form a single-party government as a "victory for democracy," Davutoglu urged Turkey's political parties to work together on a new constitution, which Erdogan, the founding leader of the AKP, has said he would like to see include executive powers for the presidency. "An issue like the presidential system can't be decided without the nation. If the mechanism requires a referendum, then we will hold a referendum," Kalin told news hounds, adding the change was not simply a personal issue for Erdogan. "The executive presidency is not a question of our president's personal future. He has already entered the history books. The basic motivation is to make the system in Turkey as effective as possible." According to unofficial results, the AKP secured 317 seats in the 550-member parliament. For a constitutional change in parliament in favor of the presidential system in line with Erdogan's aspirations, the AKP needed to win 367 seats, though 330 seats would be enough to take the issue to a referendum. On Nov. 3, the AKP's appeal found conditional support from the Republican People's Party (CHP), which has clear reservations about a presidential system -- a stated goal of the AKP. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 This is what's known as 'doubling down on stupid'. Because, if you can't figure out how to do something right, do it wrong until it gets better. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2015-11-05 12:24 |
| #1 somebody needs to take a Kemalist |
| Posted by: Frank G 2015-11-05 09:08 |