“Turkey not only has an employment deficit and a current account deficit, but also a ‘democracy deficit’,” said Boyner in a speech delivered on Thursday after she was elected TÜSİAD’s new chairwoman.
The election took place during TÜSİAD’s 40th ordinary general assembly, where Boyner and the new board were swept into office with 198 votes out of a total of 200.
Delivering a speech at the meeting after the announcement of the results, Boyner underlined Turkey’s need for democratization. Stating that Turkey has taken giant steps with regards to democratization thanks to the European Union harmonization process, Boyner said Turkey’s path to democratization slows down to the extent that Turkey falls behind in the EU harmonization process. “We cannot accept still being governed by a coup Constitution 30 years after the Sept. 12 coup,” Boyner complained.
The Sept. 12, 1980 military coup took place with the approval of all military commanders and was the most well-planned and organized coup in Turkey’s history. After Sept. 12, the 1961 Constitution was abolished. The coup ushered in a new period for Turkish politics. Boyner also recalled a study of civilian constitution proposals conducted by the late Professor Bülent Tanör, a specialist in constitutional law for TÜSİAD.
In her speech, Boyner also signaled that the she would pursue a conciliatory policy during her term. “Weren’t we a bridge between civilizations? Weren’t we a model country for an alliance of civilizations? Weren’t we the cradle of tolerance and thousands of cultures? What happened to us? We are skeptical about each other instead of solving our problems together. We cannot talk, but instead shout at each other. Why are we seeing differences as a weakness instead of richness? We all long for peace. We are dreaming of a TÜSİAD that is in contact with all of society,” she noted.
