Turkish opposition parties to submit draft work on parliamentary system
A view of the Turkish Parliament in the capital Ankara, Turkey, Dec. 6, 2021. (IHA Photo)


The opposition parties have completed the draft work on the "Strengthened Parliamentary System," which will be submitted to the parties' chairs on Dec. 22 as per the media reports Friday.

Representatives appointed by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Good Party (IP), the Future Party (GP), Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), the Democratic Party (DP) and the Felicity Party (SP) completed the work of the parliamentary system consisting of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

The delegation will meet via video conference on Friday and again on Tuesday, Dec. 21, to discuss the draft proposal in terms of its language and expression.

After the meeting, the draft will be presented to the leaders of the six political parties, whose representatives are members of the delegation, on Wednesday, Dec. 22.

After the draft proposal is discussed in the relevant committees of the parties, the chairperson of the six political parties will meet in January to discuss it further. The approved proposal will be shared with the public.

The delegation agreed on 58 topics discussed within its scope, which consists of the legislative, executive and judicial pillars.

The right-wing IP party cooperates with the main opposition center-left CHP, the conservative SP and the center-right DP under the Nation Alliance, which was formed before the general elections in June 2018. The Nation Alliance frequently voices demands for early elections and a return to the parliamentary system. Also, the newly established GP is led by former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and the fledgling party DEVA is led by former Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, senior government officials and the ruling bloc led by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) have repeatedly dismissed the demands from the opposition for early elections, saying the next elections will be held as scheduled in 2023.

It has been more than four years since Turkey switched from a parliamentary system to the current presidential system after the majority of Turkish voters opted to create the new system. Turkish voters narrowly endorsed an executive presidency on April 16, 2017 with a referendum of 51.4% votes in favor. The official transition to the new system took place when President Erdoğan was sworn in as the president in Parliament after the 2018 general elections, which he won by a majority of 52.6% votes.