Erdoğan will be very angry about this! AKP members are now criticizing the system Erdoğan introduced
Criticism of the Presidential Government System has reached the corridors of the AKP. AKP deputies are complaining about legislative proposals to which their signatures are added without their knowledge. The proposed solution within the party is striking. Officials within the party have expressed the view that a transition to a semi-presidential system is necessary.
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According to the latest information from parliamentary corridors, striking grievances within the AKP group have come to light.
According to a report by Nefes, the addition of signatures to legislative proposals prepared without the knowledge of deputies, in particular, has sparked a reaction among party members. One AKP deputy summarized the situation by saying, “I learn about a legislative proposal that bears my signature from the press.”
Such direct criticism coming from within the AKP provides clues as to how the Presidential Government System affects the party's internal operations. This criticism of the system, voiced in the parliamentary corridors, has now become a topic discussed not only by the opposition but also by the ruling party.
The Presidential Government System was adopted in the 2017 referendum and came into effect in 2018. All executive power was concentrated in the Presidency. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as the architect of this system, had insisted that it would continue. However, over time, criticisms that the system renders the legislative body, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), dysfunctional have begun to come not only from the opposition but also from the ranks of the ruling party.
EROSION OF AUTHORITY IN THE AKP GROUP
According to the report from Nefes, many legislative proposals are prepared directly in the ministries. Subsequently, the names of deputies in the AKP group are added as signatures to the bottom of the proposals.
It was noted that this situation has caused discomfort among AKP deputies. A senior AKP deputy recalled that during the parliamentary system era, proposals were prepared until the early hours of the morning with the expert staff of the Parliament. However, another deputy who complained about the current practice said:
“We only provide our names. We are neither aware of the proposal nor do we know its content.”
REACTION FROM PROVINCIAL CHAIRS AS WELL
Not only deputies but also AKP Provincial Chairs from all over Anatolia believe that the system is flawed. While assessments that “the Presidential Government System did not work” are being voiced loudly in the corridors, the discomfort felt over the deactivation of the system's checks and balances mechanisms is noteworthy.
PROPOSED SOLUTION: SEMI-PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM
The proposed solution being voiced in the corridors is a transition to a semi-presidential system. According to this model, ministers would be selected from within the Parliament, the internal regulations would be changed, and the legislative body would be strengthened once again.