A group of six opposition parties announced the details of their “Strengthened Parliamentary System” proposal in a ceremony on Monday.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Felicity Party (SP), the Good Party (IP), Future Party (GP), Democrat Party (DP) and the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) announced their proposal at a hotel in the capital Ankara.
The chairpersons of all six parties attended the ceremony, saying that they aim to replace the current presidential system of government that went into effect after the April 2017 referendum.
DEVA Deputy Chairperson Mustafa Yeneroğlu claimed that the proposed system aims to enhance Parliament’s representation capacity and improve its lawmaking and executive function, which he claimed would make the legislative branch more democratic and effective.
He also said they propose to drop the election threshold to 3% and establish a framework for the political representation of Turkish nationals living abroad.
The six parties also plan to put an end to the omnibus bill and will not allow fundamental rights and freedoms to be regulated by executive orders.
“We will also put an end to the president’s veto, which weakens Parliament’s legislative function,” he said, adding that they will strengthen Parliament’s relations with relevant nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) during the lawmaking process.
Meanwhile, DP Deputy Chairperson Bülent Şahinalp said they will create an “accountable” executive branch, in which the president can undertake the role of an impartial arbitrator as expected and embrace an intraparty structure.
The proposed system also limits the president to a single seven-year term, requires that the president sever their ties to political parties and prohibits them from joining a political party after their term.
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 Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was sworn in as the president in Parliament after the 2018 general elections, which he won by a majority of 52.6% votes.
