Azernews.Az

By News Center

Turkey’s Yeni Shafak daily has criticized the opposition efforts to change the country’s presidential government system to the parliamentary one.

Those who want to strengthen parliament's role should stay away from issues such as the coup, memorandum, bribery, threats, blackmail and the usurpation of the will of the deputies. Parliament would be very powerful then, the newspaper said.

The article emphasized the importance of the verb empowerment in the face of weakness and counter-attack. Turkey adopted the presidential government system following a constitutional amendment that went into effect with a popular vote in 2017. Following the June 2018 elections, the new system's first government was formed.

Opposing the constitutional amendment in Parliament, the opposition led by the Republican People's Party (CHP) urged the public to vote "No". However, a "Yes" vote was cast, and the change was implemented. The opposition, led by the CHP, was unable to digest the constitutional amendment and immediately began looking for a way back.

The "strengthened parliamentary system" was the concept they invented for the return. Because Turkey has been harmed by the parliamentary system on numerous occasions, the opposition attempted to replace the term with a "strengthened parliamentary system" to avoid reviving bad memories.

Throughout its history, the Turkish parliament has been subjected to serious attacks. There has always been a group that cannot digest the will of the nation, dating back to the 1950 elections. With the coup of 1960, this group carried out the first attack on the parliament.

Following the 1961 elections, they threatened the presidential candidate if he was elected by the deputies and showed him his grave in the cemetery.

Despite the intrigues of the 1965 elections, Justice Party leader Suleyman Demirel won a large majority in parliament, but the party was not permitted to elect a president. The previous day, the chief of general staff, who had retired the day before, was elected president with the alleged free will of the parliament.

Demirel, who gained a landslide victory in the 1969 elections, had to leave the office in 1971. The Parliament, which gained its alleged freedom after Demirel's departure, declared Nihat Erim (who left the CHP of his own free will) as the Prime Minister. In 1973, when the Parliament was choosing the President, warplanes were making joyful demonstrations over the Parliament building.

Demirel, who won a landslide victory in the 1969 elections, was forced to resign in 1971. The parliament, which allegedly gained its freedom after Demirel's departure, appointed prime minister Nihat Erim (who left the CHP on his own free will). When the parliament was electing the president in 1973, warplanes flew joyfully over the parliament building.

As an advocate of the "strengthened parliament" system today, the CHP refused to allow the parliament to elect the president in 2007 and instead went to the squares to lay the groundwork for the coup.

Those who claim to be strengthening the parliament do not need to work themselves to exhaustion. They only need to make one promise. What were the factors that weakened parliament in the past... Let them promise not to bring up issues like the coup, the memorandum, bribery, threats, blackmail, and so on.

---