AKP seeks to set presidential tenure
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Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 22, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan requested on Monday that his ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, top cadre determine how long President Abdullah Gül will remain in his seat with a law.
Last year’s constitutional amendment shortened the president’s term to five years from seven years and introduced a popular vote for his or her election. The amendment also curbed Parliament’s mandate by one year, stipulating that general elections will be held every four years.
Gül was elected with a parliamentary vote in 2007 for seven years. Jurists have varying arguments whether Gül should leave his office after completing seven years or five years, and similar ambiguity surrounds the current Parliament's mandate. Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan last week argued that if Parliament has to go to general elections in 2011, thus serving a four-year term, the president’s current term should be five years. "I think our term must last for four years. We may need a law to clarify this," Toptan had said.
Meanwhile, Erdoğan wants to pass the constitutional amendments by the end of May, Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review learned. Erdoğan and Toptan agreed to pass the amendments by seeking a consensus in Parliament in their meeting. Toptan said yesterday that he would speak with political party leaders if necessary "when the time is right."
Toptan is expected to hold meetings with the party leader in the following weeks. The AKP thinks that a constitutional amendment package is not viable without the consent of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP.
Gül was elected with a parliamentary vote in 2007 for seven years. Jurists have varying arguments whether Gül should leave his office after completing seven years or five years, and similar ambiguity surrounds the current Parliament's mandate. Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan last week argued that if Parliament has to go to general elections in 2011, thus serving a four-year term, the president’s current term should be five years. "I think our term must last for four years. We may need a law to clarify this," Toptan had said.
Meanwhile, Erdoğan wants to pass the constitutional amendments by the end of May, Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review learned. Erdoğan and Toptan agreed to pass the amendments by seeking a consensus in Parliament in their meeting. Toptan said yesterday that he would speak with political party leaders if necessary "when the time is right."
Toptan is expected to hold meetings with the party leader in the following weeks. The AKP thinks that a constitutional amendment package is not viable without the consent of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP.