Turkish parliament debates constitutional amendments

The Turkish parliament has begun debating changes to the state constitution which supporters believe will be “good for the region”. Critics describe the move as an attempted power-grab by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the draft bill under consideration proposes constitutional amendments which include the adoption of a system that would grant wide-ranging powers to the head of state.

The debate was launched after 338 members of the assembly’s 550 lawmakers voted in a ballot to deliberate over 18 constitutional articles. Just over 130 members rejected the proposal to discuss constitutional change in the Grand National Assembly.

The government hopes that the debate will result in a referendum in which the option of replacing Turkey’s parliamentary system with a presidential model will be put to the electorate.

According to Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, the change would be good for the region. “Turkey has significant responsibilities in the region,” he told parliament. “Thus, we have to be powerful and have strong political stability. We will achieve it with this constitutional change.”

The government wants the change as it believes that there are flaws in the current system that hold back Turkey’s development. It is convinced that a strong presidential office will avoid weak government and allow the country to tackle challenges successfully, such as fighting Daesh, for example, or taking on the outlawed Kurdish PKK and the Fethullah Gülen movement.

Opponents, however, claim that the amendments will weaken democratic checks and balances, and lead to increased authoritarianism. According to Britain’s Guardian newspaper, protests were reported from some quarters as parliament began its deliberations. It also said that a rally outside the parliament building in Ankara against the change descended into violence after riot police used teargas and pepper spray on the demonstrators. Police also fired water cannon to disperse protesters, pushing back with their shields those who returned to the fray.