Turkey’s next president
Debates that began when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan underwent surgery last month and had to stay away from politics during his several-week recovery still continue today.
These debates center on the questions of whether Erdogan will run for presidency in the near future, to whom he will entrust his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and when the tenure of President Abdullah Gül will end. As Turkey adopted a five-year renewable presidential term after Gül’s election for a seven-year term in 2007, there is disagreement over whether Gül will serve for five years or seven.
The Vatan daily’s Can Atakli says there are three unknowns regarding the presidential elections in Turkey, which he lists as whether Gül will serve for a five or seven-year term, whether will he be able to run for the presidency again and, if Gül is not re-elected, who will assume the presidency after him. Atakli says although these questions are seemingly simple, they will shape Turkey’s future.
He criticizes the fact that although Parliament changed the law in 2007 regarding the election of the president, who will subsequently be elected by the people rather than Parliament, the details under this new law, such as the criteria to be met by presidential candidates, how candidates will campaign for presidential elections, what kinds of promises they will make to the nation for a symbolic position that does not have much actual executive power and how candidates will finance their election campaigns, have not yet been clarified.
Under these circumstances, Atakli says: “A presidential election that will be held in either 2012 or 2014 will have no meaning for the country other than the pleasure it will bring to the person elected president. No matter who is elected, it will be impossible for them to have a say in the administration of the country.” He suggests that Turkey should return to the former system in which the president was elected by Parliament in order to be rid of all the ambiguity and complications of the new system.
Taraf’s Mehmet Baransu discussed the question of who will lead the AK Party if Erdogan is elected Turkey’s next president. He says the names of three figures are commonly mentioned as the potential new leader of the AK Party after Erdogan: President Abdullah Gül, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arinç and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
However, Baransu says Erdogan has someone completely different in his heart Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim due to his achievements as minister and his hardworking nature. Nevertheless, Baransu says allegations of corruption among some members of Yildirim’s family will make Erdo?an select the person in his mind rather than his heart as the new AK Party leader. This person is Abdullah Gül, who is expected to retire as president in 2014.
Yeni ?afak’s Mehmet Seker thinks those who say Gül’s term is for five years and those who say it is for seven are correct in their arguments; however, a solution to this situation can be found by Parliament. In his view, what will determine this is when Erdogan wants to ascend to the Çankaya presidential palace. F Disli Zibak reported for Todays Zaman
