PanARMENIAN.Net
Turkish President vetoes constitutional changes on
public elect country’s leader
26.05.2007 14:15 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer has vetoed a
set of constitutional changes that would have let the public elect the
country’s head of state. The amendment was prompted after secular
opposition lawmakers boycotted a vote to elect the Islamist-rooted
ruling party’s candidate, Abdullah Gul.
Mr Gul, the foreign minister, withdrew his candidacy and the
government called early general elections for 22 July.
Under the current system, the president is elected by parliament.
It was widely expected that Mr Sezer would reject the package of
reforms. In a statement, the secularist president said there was "no
justifiable and acceptable reason or necessity" for the amendment. He
said the changes could threaten Turkey’s democratic system as a
president elected by popular vote could further challenge parliament,
which is also directly elected.
"In the parliamentary system, these broad powers envisaged to achieve
a balance of power could produce results which are troublesome for the
regime … if the president is chosen by the people," Mr Sezer said.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indicated that his government
will try to push the reform through parliament again unchanged.
But Mr Sezer cannot veto the same bill twice. He would either have to
approve the law or call a referendum.
The reforms included a proposal letting the public elect a president
for a five-year term that could be renewed once.
Currently, parliament elects Turkey’s president for one non-renewable
seven-year term, BBC reports.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
