ANKARA
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said the goal of his Justice and Development, or AK Party is to maintain its place as the ruling party by coming in first in June 7 parliamentary elections.
The AK Party has been at the helm of Turkey since 2002, and has never lost an election.
In an interview with a private television channel NTV Thursday, Davutoglu pointed out that the ruling AK Party had been winning since 2002. "Our goal is to remain at the ruling seat, and we will," he said.
The premier's remarks came two days after Turkish political parties announced their candidates’ lists for the upcoming polls.
Davutoglu also spoke about his plans to write books if things do not turn out as planned.
"If I win, I will continue to hold my post under democratic conditions, but if I lose, of which there is a low chance, I will hand over my seat to the winner and write books," he said.
He also said he would not shy away from handing over power to a colleague, if there was a need.
"When I feel that I have been unsuccessful, it will be a holy duty upon me to turn over the post to another colleague that I believe will be successful," he added.
He also spoke about the inclusion of the need for a presidential system in the ruling party’s election manifesto, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been pushing for to replace the current parliamentary system.
At the moment, the AK Party does not have enough seats in the parliament to constitutionally change the system of governance in the country. According to the Turkish Constitution, such a change requires the approval of at least two-thirds majority or votes of 367 members out of 550 lawmakers. Only then can a sitting president approve such a system or hold a referendum about it.
Turkish citizens had voted in a referendum in 2007 to elect their president by popular vote.
Davutoglu said that the parliamentary system had been "non-existent" in Turkey since the first military coup was staged in May 1960, which saw the elected Prime Minister Adnan Menderes executed by a coup regime. Turkey has seen at least two more coups d’état since then.
"If (the parliamentary system) were functioning well, we would not have had that many military coups," he said.
The premier said that a new presidential system would be based on human rights and protection of people's freedom.
"In the election manifesto, we will describe the presidential system not only as a form of government, but we will essentially draw a framework that connects its essence with its human-oriented and liberal character," he added.
According to the AK Party's campaign calendar, the election manifesto is expected to be unveiled on April 15 in Ankara, when Davutoglu will also introduce party candidates.
As for the AK Party's three-term restriction for its deputies, Davutoglu did not rule out the possibility that those who will be left out of the parliament could still be given ministerial posts in the next government.
Davutoglu himself became part of the cabinet without becoming a Member of Parliament by first assuming the office of Foreign Minister in 2009, while advising then Prime Minister Erdogan.
A total of 70 parliamentarians in the ruling party, including Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Ali Babacan, Party spokesman Besir Atalay and other senior figures like Mehmet Ali Sahin will not be able to run again in the June elections because of the three-term restriction in the AK Party by-laws.
The AK Party was victorious in last year’s March local elections and its then leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed the presidential election in August 2014. In the 2011 general elections, the AK Party got almost 50 percent of the votes.
Approximately 56 million Turkish citizens will vote on June 7 in the country's 25th general elections to elect 550 lawmakers of the Turkish Parliament. Turkey had held general elections every five years until a 2007 constitutional change which set elections to every four years.
