Turkish MPs pass Article 9 of new Constitution
Turkish MPs pass Article 9 of new Constitution
Turkish
lawmakers on Friday adopted the ninth article of a new constitutional
reform package which regulates the President's criminal liability, APA reports quoting Anadolu Agency.
According
to the adopted article, the Turkish Grand National Assembly may propose
by absolute majority an investigation into the alleged crime of the
President. The article was endorsed by 343 MPs, while 137 rejected it.
The
lawmakers would discuss this proposal within one month and may decide
to launch an inquiry by 330 MPs --three-fifths of the assembly-- in a
secret ballot.
An inquiry would be conducted by a commission of 15 MPs, consisting of members of the political parties in the assembly.
The
commission would submit a report stating the outcome of the inquiry to
the presidency of the assembly within two months. If the inquiry can not
be completed within this period, a new and definite period of one month
is given to the commission, the Article 9 read.
An
inquiry report shall be distributed to the lawmakers within ten days
from the date on which it is given to the President, and shall be
discussed in the general assembly within ten days following its
distribution, the accepted article says.
Turkish
Parliament may take the decision of sending the President to the
Supreme Criminal Tribunal by 367 MPs --two-thirds of the assembly-- in a
secret ballot.
The
trial at the Supreme Criminal Tribunal shall be completed within three
months. If it can not be completed within this period, a three-month
additional period shall be granted for one time, the article states.
The duty of the President would end if he or she is condemned for a crime that prevents him or her from being elected.
The Article 9 also adds that the President can not take an election decision during his or her inquiry process.
Friday
marks the fifth day since the debate on the constitutional reforms
began in the parliament. Nine more amendments proposed by the AK Party
will be voted in parliament.
The
parliamentary process will likely be followed by a referendum in which
the option of replacing Turkey’s parliamentary system with a
presidential model will be put to the electorate.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and
his supporters have argued that Turkey needs a strong presidency to
avoid weak governance and allow the country to successfully tackle a
number of challenges, including terror attacks from Daesh, the PKK and
the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
Opponents claim it will weaken democratic checks and lead to increased authoritarianism.
To
reach a referendum, the proposed changes must first be passed by 330
deputies. If it gets the support of 367 lawmakers it could pass into law
without a referendum, although the AK Party said it would hold a
popular vote regardless.
A simple majority must agree to the changes in a referendum.
The
AK Party has 316 seats and Erdogan hopes the support of the opposition
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which has 39 seats and last month
agreed to back the package, will be enough to secure a referendum.
Other
parties -- the Republican People's Party (CHP), with 133 seats, and the
Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), with 59 deputies -- remain opposed to a
presidential system. Two independent deputies are split over support
for the amendments.
Among
the changes are plans for an elected president to form a government
independently of parliament and for the role of prime minister --
typically the person leading the largest parliamentary party -- to be
abandoned.
Parliamentary
and presidential elections would be held on the same day every five
years, instead of the current four for the parliamentary vote.
The president would be limited to two terms in office but would not be required to leave his or her political party.
When
elected to the presidency in Aug. 2014, Erdogan had to resign as AK
Party leader due to the supposedly apolitical nature of the post.
- 14 January 2017
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