Columnist of pro-AKP newspaper Sabah claims 'a strong separation of power is not for Turkey'
Debates over the proposal of AKP's controversial constitutional amendments continue.
While the opposition has been warning that the proposal is actually a regime change aimed to bring about terms and practices in resemblance of authoritarian systems, government officials and their supporters argue 'this is what Turkey needs', without giving much place for counter arguments.
One of the most crucial terms suggested in the proposal is the shift to a presidential system. This has also been the most debated term, as it not only proposes the office of the prime minister to be eliminated and her/his duties and power to be given to the president but also puts the legislative branch in an almost impotent position since the president is also to keep her/his party affiliation during her/his term, indicating an ever present potential of direct influence of the executive branch on the legislative.
Taking this question to his column today (January), columnist of pro-government Sabah newpaper Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı wrote that ‘a regime with a strong separation of powers is not suitable for Turkey now’, arguing it would ‘bring back the order of guardianship to Turkey.’
Saying ‘a loose separation of powers is the right solution for Turkey now’, Kütahyalı added the relevant remarks: “As I had written before, one of the most important ways of fighting against bureaucratic guardianship is giving the judiciary bureaucracy a democratic legitimacy but holding it under democratic control at the same time... And, as Prof. Dr. Atilla Yayla also explains, this can be done if the executive branch gets support from the legislative branch in this fight. Until now, this is how it has been done..."