28 March 2017•Update: 29 March 2017
By Emre Ayvaz
SAKARYA, Turkey
The proposed new system of governance that will be decided in the upcoming referendum is Turkey's insurance for the post-President Recep Tayyip Erdogan period, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.
Speaking at an event organized by the Justice and Development (AK) Party in northwestern Sakarya province’s Arifiye district, Cavusoglu defended the proposed constitutional reforms.
"The [new presidential] system that we will bring is Turkey's insurance for the post-Erdogan period. We should explain this very well," he said.
Cavusoglu added that if Turkey is powerful today despite all its hurdles from inside and outside, and if the Turkish economy is growing while other countries' economies are failing, it is not because of Turkey's current governance system, but because they have a leader like Erdogan.
He also said: "Why would Erdogan need [more] power? The current constitution gives a lot of powers to the president."
The constitutional changes have been discussed since Erdogan was voted in August 2014. The 18-article bill was passed by parliament in January, with 339 votes in favor -- nine more than needed to put the proposal to a referendum.
The reforms would hand wide-ranging executive powers to the president and the post of prime minister would be abolished. The president would also be allowed to retain ties to a political party.
Other changes would see the minimum age for parliamentary candidates reduced to 18 and the number of deputies to 600. Simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections for a five-year term would be held in November 2019 under the new constitution.
