Revision discussions in the Presidential Government System are on the agenda

Claims that the Presidential Government System may be revised and a new government model may be brought to the agenda are being discussed in the political lobbies.

While it was suggested that some elements of the current system could be changed, especially the 50+1 percent requirement for the election of the President, Sociologist Semih Turan evaluated the discussions for Cumhuriyet.

Stating that he has been expressing that it is difficult to hold another election with the current system for about two years, Turan said that this possibility has become even stronger after the lawyer Serap Yazıcı Özbudun, one of the architects of the Six Table's strengthened parliamentary system work, joined the AKP.

'CHANGE IS INEVITABLE FOR GOVERNMENT'

Turan stated that although it is not the same as the strengthened parliamentary system model proposed by the Six-Party Table, the current system can be revised and transformed into a new model, and argued that the basis of the discussions is President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's re-election plan. Turan said, "In the current system, the parameter that is much more important than the distribution of seats in the parliament is the presidential candidacy. Of course, it is important who the opposition candidate will be, but the main issue is that Erdoğan is no longer seen as having the potential to receive 50+1 percent of the votes. I think he sees this picture in the research commissioned by the People's Alliance. Therefore, a revision or a more comprehensive change in the system seems inevitable."

'VOTERS WANT A PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM'

Pointing to public surveys conducted after the transition to the Presidential Government System, Turan said that approximately two-thirds of the voters were in favor of changing the system. Turan said, "When the voters are asked about their preference between the Presidential Government System and the parliamentary system, a split of two-thirds versus one-third emerges. That is, most of the voters want the parliamentary system. The People's Alliance also constantly takes measurements and sees this trend."

'THE PROBLEMS GOT DEEPER'

Stating that the voters' demand for system change stems from the developments experienced since 2018, Turan pointed out that the problems in the fields of health, education and law, as well as economic indicators, have worsened.

"Since the transition to the Presidential Government System, all parameters have developed against the citizens," said Turan, adding, "Look at the foreign exchange rate and inflation. Citizen complaints have increased in every field, especially in health, education and law. The current system does not provide a solution to the problems, but has deepened these problems even further. For this reason, the voters do not want this system anymore."

THE ACCOUNT OF DRAWING THE OPPOSITION TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL TABLE

Stating that the government can present a possible system change proposal to the opposition with the discourse of "return to the parliamentary system", Turan noted that in this way, it can be aimed to provide the necessary political support for the constitutional change. Turan said, "Transition to the parliamentary system does not mean changing just one article of the constitution; it requires a comprehensive system change. The government may think that the opposition will not say no when they say 'Let's talk about the parliamentary system'. It seems that some steps have been taken in this direction. I think that after the autumn, system revision and parliamentary system discussions will come to the agenda much more frequently."