Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made comments regarding the ongoing discussions on the constitutional proposal as well as the presidential system, as he highlighted the importance of a head of state maintaining ties with his own political party. Ahead of President Erdogan's two-day visit to Pakistan, starting yesterday, he told the media during a press conference that, "When a president breaks off ties with the party [that brought him to power], it weakens political effectiveness and the active [political] structure."
As chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announced on Tuesday alongside opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli that they had reached an agreement on the proposed presidential system, President Erdoğan responded to a question regarding the discussions and said there was "no doubt" that when the president works in tandem with his party, it makes "the party and the president strong and more determined steps can be made in solidarity." He further noted that the name of the governing system is not a concern, whether it is called either "presidential" or a "presidency." "It is not a problem for me if this [draft] uses ‘presidential' or ‘presidency.' What matters is the proposal that will be made to the people by the two political parties. Once it is taken to the parliament, we will see whether it receives 367 votes or goes to a referendum. The process following afterwards is something that the people will decide," President Erdoğan added.
In addition to the Turkish President's remarks, AK Party Deputy and Chairman of Parliament's Constitution Committee Mustafa Şentop underlined on Wednesday during a televised interview that the main issue with the current governing system is the "instability" and "uncertainty." Continuing by noting that the new system is expected to come into effect following the 2019 elections, Şentop said, "A president without a political party is a status introduced during a guardianship system." He also stated that in a presidential system, the two-headed system will be eliminated, allowing an improved administration. Though he was unable to provide further information on the proposal by the AK Party, Şentop stated that details will be available once the proposal comes before the parliamentary committee.
