One Man To Rule Them All

Erdoğan edges a step closer to total control in Turkey. “The system of checks and balances has been literally thrown out of the window”

- Noah Feldman

Turkey is facing a major potential shift in power following the success of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s campaign to secure sweeping executive authority. Having won parliament’s approval last month, Turks now face having the final say in a referendum that could be held in early April.

The parliament voted 339-142 to make the president the head of the executive and abolish the job of prime minister, triggering a referendum on the proposal and putting Erdoğan one step away from building a power centre unrivalled since the days of parliamentary founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. In Turkey’s system, amendments to the constitution need to be approved by 367 of 550 members to become law. Proposals that receive between 330 and 367 votes can be referred to a plebescite.

“It’s still early to call a referendum date, we will share it when we pick up some momentum,” Erdoğan said in a televised speech after his win in parliament. “We see that our people favour a constitutional referendum and a president with party ties. We wouldn’t attempt this otherwise.”

As lawmakers from the ruling AK Party declared victory, legislators from opposition parties CHP and HDP warned that the attempt to transform Turkey’s government has polarised the nation. Erdoğan’s supporters say it’s needed to overcome deepening security and economic challenges, while critics warn the overhaul would concentrate a dangerous amount of power in the hands of a single authority who has already embarked on a crackdown on political opponents, journalists, academics and activists.

“Turkey’s drift toward authoritarianism will accelerate in 2017 and the odds that President Erdoğan will be able to achieve a formal, full executive presidency through a referendum on a new constitution are favourable,” Anthony Skinner