Republican People’s Party (CHP) İstanbul deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu says the package of constitutional reform proposals facilitating a switch to a presidential system of governance that was submitted to Parliament on Saturday by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) may pave the way for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to remain power for 14 years despite a two-term limit.
Outlining his assessment of the package on Twitter, the CHP deputy and lawyer Tanrıkulu underlined the details and gaps in the constitutional reform proposals.
“If parliament takes a decision for early elections, it was not mentioned that the new president could serve only for the years left from his previous term. Hence, the stipulation that the president can serve only two terms in office notwithstanding, by using this gap he can serve 14 years,” said Tanrıkulu.
The Cumhuriyet daily also focused on a similar issue in an analysis published on Monday. “Despite the fact that the eighth article of the proposal stipulates only two terms for the president, the 12th article paves the way for a third term in the event Parliament takes an early election decision during the second term of the president. This might lead to a president serving in office more than three times de facto practice,” the paper said in the article.