Turkey schedules April 16 referendum on constitutional changes
By
Halil Celik
13 February 2017
After a constitutional amendment package vastly strengthening the president’s powers was approved in the Turkish parliament and sent to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on February 2, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced on Friday the holding of a referendum on the amendment on April 16.
“Our president has approved the constitutional amendment so the date of the public vote has become clear. God willing, the referendum will be held on April 16,” he told reporters.
The 18-article amendment package, proposed by Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) and backed by the fascistic Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), was passed by Turkish parliament in January 21, with 339 votes in favor. The opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) opposed the amendment.
The amendment, if approved in the referendum, would hand almost all executive power over to the president. Abolishing the post of prime minister, it would also allow the president to issue decrees having the force of law, appoint vice presidents and cabinet members, dissolve parliament and call elections, and declare a state of emergency—during which the president could rule by decree without any restriction from other branches of government.
The proposed amendment would also give the president vast powers over the judiciary—altering the configuration of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), reducing its number of members from 22 to 13. Four members of the board will be appointed by the president, while the justice minister will be the chairperson and the undersecretary a permanent member. The seven remaining members would be elected by the…