AK Party to create sub-commissions to decide on adjustment for new system

As the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) continues its preparations for adjustment laws, it has decided to launch separate sub-commissions for each subject to handle them in more detail, with focus on election alliances, presidential laws, political party laws and election laws.

Also on the agenda will be important regulations regarding the presidential government system that will go into effect in 2019.

This will include the head of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Develt Bahçeli's election alliance offer, the number of parties that can join the alliance – if there is any, punishing responsible individuals rather than shutting down political parties, how many deputy presidents there can be and their division of duty.

Another plan of the AK Party is to lower the age of candidacy for mayor and mukhtar (village headman) to 18.

During previous works, the idea of having three deputy presidents was popular while the first deputy president's duty involves going to early elections in 45 days in case of an evacuation of the presidential seat for any reason.

The AK Party also welcomes MHP's offer of alliance. However, how the parties position themselves on the ballot and how many parties will be included in the alliance will become clearer after the works of the sub-commissions.

In case of an alliance, the AK Party plans to make criteria allowing a maximum of three political parties, with the thought that more parties would cause confusion.

Another regulation that AK Party plans to work on is the abolition of shutting down political parties. In order to completely remove this, a constitutional change is needed. Yet, for now, instead of a constitutional change, the government plans to make new regulations in the Political Party Laws.

Instead of shutting down political parties, responsible politicians will be punished individually and furthermore the treasury will cut its support to the political parties, if needed.

The AK Party plans to offer the changes regarding the adjustment laws to the assembly in January and then discuss it with other parties to gain support.