A senior official from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has said President Abdullah Gül should become the next prime minister if Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is elected president.
“If Erdoğan runs for the presidency and is elected president, it is my wish to see Gül return to the party, become its general chairman and be elected prime minister in the 2015 elections,” said AK Party Deputy Chairman Mehmet Ali Şahin during a meeting held in the Safranbolu district of Karabük.
Şahin indicated that while Erdoğan has not declared his intention to run for president, the AK Party and the public want to see him as president. “If he chooses to become president, the AK Party will do its best to assist him,” he said.
Şahin further maintained that it is important have a strong leader for the AK Party in the post-Erdoğan era and that Gül would be the best candidate for such a leadership position.
Şahin stated that following the presidential election, Turkey must draft a new constitution with provisions dealing with a presidential or a semi-presidential system. “If we can secure sufficient seats in Parliament to amend the Constitution, albeit through referendum, we must amend it to introduce a presidential system,” he said, adding that when he is elected president, Erdoğan would not be satisfied with the powers and authorities of the current presidency but would be eager to lead the country.
Noting that the AK Party has to secure as many seats as possible in Parliament in the 2015 elections, Şahin said, “The identity of the person who will lead us is important in order for the party to be successful in the elections,” adding that Gül would make a good leader of the AK Party.
Şahin also maintained that the Supreme Election Board (YSK) has issued a circular about campaigning for the presidential election, allowing political parties to hold rallies where presidential candidates can deliver speeches.
“This means presidential candidates can be affiliated with political parties. Turkey will effectively transition to a regime where the president maintains his/her party affiliations. This will make the constitutional provision about the ‘severing of the president's party affiliations upon their election' null and void. Therefore, we must amend the Constitution eventually,” he said.
Criticizing the opposition parties' objection to Erdoğan's presidential candidacy, Şahin said Erdoğan meets the criteria to run for president as set forth under Article 101 of the Constitution.
Şahin argued that Turkey is heading toward a two-party system due to the presidential system debate, maintaining that one of the parties in this two-party system will be the AK Party while the other party will either be the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) or the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) after one of them rises above the other.
“There are two strong parties in those countries with a presidential or semi-presidential system,” he said.
Source/Fuente: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-349888-ak-party-deputy-chairman-let-erdo...
