Turkiye opposition will strip president of powers, manifesto reveals

The Nation Alliance announced on Monday a memorandum of understanding on “common policies”, which summarises the opposition’s plans after winning the elections.

The document reviews issues relating to law, judiciary, managing the country, combating corruption, transparency, economy, innovation, digital transformation, foreign policies, defence, security and immigration.

Below are some of the most important measure the opposition will put in place if elected:

President’s term and powers

According to the MOU, the president’s term in office will be set to only seven years, and the president must be dismissed from his party and not return to political activity after completing this term.

His right to veto decisions will also be abolished, instead he would be able return laws to parliament for re-discussion. His power to issue decrees would also be revoked, while the state of emergency in the country would be lifted and its duration would be reduced from six months to two months.

Law, justice and the judiciary

“We will move to a strengthened parliamentary system for a strong, liberal, democratic and just system, in which the separation of powers is implemented besides an effective and participatory legislative body along with a stable, transparent and accountable executive authority, and an independent and impartial judiciary,” the document said.

“We will immediately start implementing the necessary constitutional and legal changes, in conformity with the strengthened parliamentary system,” the document added.

The opposition vowed to redefine the concepts of “state secrets” and “commercial secrets” in a way that does not conflict with the parliament’s powers to obtain the necessary information.

The Nation Alliance promised to decrease the electoral threshold to three per cent and to require obtaining the parliament’s approval to open cases related to prohibiting political parties.

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Fighting corruption 

The document mentions the establishment of a corruption investigation committee affiliated with parliament, the return of earnings obtained from corruption and smuggled abroad, and the establishment of an office to recover assets related to this matter.

It pledged to abide by the rules of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and to remove Turkiye from the EU’s “Grey List”, affirming that it will work to ban its Tax Haven status which is used as a means of money laundering.

The opposition would abolish the Turkish Sovereign Wealth Fund, which was established in 2016, and separate the Treasury from the Ministry of Finance. It would also establish new ministries including the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Ministry of Urbanisation and Combating Natural Disasters.

It seeks to develop Turkiye and turn it into a high-income country through a sustainable and extensive strategy that focuses on green transformation and the digital revolution, investment, employment, efficiency and technology.

The opposition also promised to work to permanently reduce inflation to a single digit within two years, and pledged to restore the dominance and stability of the Turkish lira.

Foreign Policy

The document reveals that the opposition will work to complete the EU accession process within the framework of dialogue and equality with relevant countries and institutions, and will work to revise the 2014 readmission and the 2016 refugee deal.

It vowed to abide by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and implement its decisions, and continue Turkiye’s contributions within NATO while preserving national interests.

Turkiye, they added, would continue to abide by the policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of countries in the region.