Amid talk of a referendum on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s long-standing desire for a switch to an executive presidency that concentrates all power in one person, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said on Monday that his party would not object to the proposal out of hand without first seeing the details.
Although Kılıçdaroğlu earlier raised objections to a system change over fear of one-man rule, the surprising comment came during a question and answer session from the readers of Sputnik News Turkey. ¨We cannot comment before we see the text [the draft legislation],¨said Kılıçdaroğlu before going on to state that they could not reject a proposal they have not yet seen. However, he noted that as he told Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, the CHP is in favor of the current parliamentary system of governance.
In response to criticism for attending a post-coup rally organized by the government in Yenikapı Square, Kılıçdaroğlu pointed out that he does not regret going to the rally, emphasizing the importance of unity.
‘Government knew about coup attempt’
Meanwhile, Kılıçdaroğlu reiterated his claim that the government had known in advance about a coup attempt in Turkey on July 15 since a military officer had notified the National Intelligence Organization (MİT).
However, the nation’s main opposition leader said that in order to argue that the government let the coup attempt happen in order to introduce the presidential system, concrete evidence is required. Kılıçdaroğlu added that the facts will all be revealed in time.