Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan, Bahçeli ile görüştü

Turkish President Erdoğan, PM Davutoğlu to meet Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader over presidential system


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will take part in a meeting with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, it was announced on Monday.

The meeting, set to take place in the presidential complex in Ankara on Monday afternoon, comes just hours after Davutoğlu held a meeting with members of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) over the proposed shift to a presidential system.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) will also hold a presidential system meeting on Monday, where the process of gathering signatures from CHP MPs for a parliamentary proposal is set to be discussed.

The ruling AK Party needs the support of at least 322 parliamentarians if it is to initiate a referendum on the proposed amendments after they are approved by the parliament. The party currently has 316 seats in parliament.

The parliamentary proposal for the shift from a parliamentary to a presidential government system will be jointly presented to parliament on Thursday with signatures collected from at least 50 parliamentarians from People's Republican Party (CHP), the Good (IYI) Party, and the Democratic Left Party (DSP).

The four parties have agreed to submit the proposed amendments to the parliament, with the signatures of their MPs in order to extend the parliamentary process.

Along with AK Party MPs, opposition MPs from the four parties have also started to gather signatures for the proposal.

CHP Deputy Parliamentary Group Chairman Özgür Özel will present the parliamentary proposal to the parliament on behalf of all four parties, and the main opposition Party will also approve it.

CHP deputy leader Sezgin Tanrıkulu, who is responsible for the political transition, has said that the ruling AK Party was playing the role of "the opposition" in the parliamentary process.

"This system change is our suggestion, and we will play the main role in all its processes," he said. "The Presidential system isn't just a simple change. It's a new era in the history of the Republic." (EA)