Tomorrow (Sunday, April 16th) Turkish citizens will be heading to the polls for a monumental vote, between the parliamentary system the country has used for nearly a century, or a new constitution entirely. This new constitution would concentrate all power in the hands of the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. A “yes” to the new constitution would abolish the post of the prime minister, reduce the power of parliament, and formalize a system where the president answers to no one except voters. However, as democratic as this sounds, it would provide a system ripe for corruption. As it is, the Turkish justice system is in shambles; there are two factions accusing eachother of corruption and fraud, and over the past nine months, the government has sacked ¼ of all national judges (and more than 2,500 are behind bars). This new constitution would allow the president and his allies to appoint all 22 members of the country's most influential judicial body (instead of just four). Additionally, the new constitution would also pace legislative branch at the disposal of the executive, as the President would get to choose parliamentary candidates. Erdoğan has been in power for 14 years (longer than any Turkish leader since the founder of the republic); the new constitution would allow him to serve a maximum of two five year terms (beginning with presidential elections in 2019). However, there is a loophole involving early elections that would allow him to remain in power until as late as 2034. This is extremely dangerous for Turkey, socially and economically. If the constitution does get passed it will open up many new avenues for corruption. It will be very interesting to see how the upcoming vote impacts the country.
"What Is at Stake in Turkey's Referendum." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 12 Apr. 2017. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2017/04/economist-explains-15
1 comment:
After reading this, Mr. Erdogan will have more power and will continue his purge against the opponents. There will be more EU bashing and he might even stick to his campaign promise to reinstate capital punishment. Expect the expansion of Islamic schools and socially conservative legislation mixed together with grandiose public/private partnership projects. It'll be interesting to see what the international response will be in the coming weeks and months.
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