 |
CHP and MHP voters not likely to oppose package
The MHP has already started a campaign to rally its grassroots organizations to vote against the reforms in a possible public referendum. In addition to voters, the CHP and the MHP both risk losing some of their deputies’ “no” votes in Parliament, even before it becomes certain whether the package will be referred to a public vote. Sources report serious differences in opinion between the party administrations and their base supporters.
Experts liken the situation to the 1987 referendum to abolish political bans on 1980-era politicians. Turgut Özal had come to power with 42 percent of the vote at the time, and he opposed the removal of the bans on Süleyman Demirel, Bülent Ecevit, Necmettin Erbakan and Alparslan Türkeş. However, despite the strong support that got him elected, the people voted “yes” on the referendum and ended the political bans. The CHP is aware of the situation, and its leader, Deniz Baykal, is trying to find a way to cancel the package before it is referred to a referendum. MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli is working to delay the referendum until after the 2012 elections. The party, which is already holding campaigns against the referendum in its local branches, will start doing the same in electoral regions in the coming period.
The CHP administration will also hold regional gatherings, depending on the course of the constitutional package in Parliament. CHP leader Baykal is expected to join most of these meetings. However, the CHP’s initial plan is to block the package from being referred to a public vote.
Procedures to pass reform package Constitutional changes in Parliament are voted on in a two-round vote. A total of 110 deputies need to file a motion against a package to refer it to the Constitutional Court. For changes to be accepted, more than a two-thirds majority -- that is, more than 367 deputies -- should vote in favor of the package. The president can later ratify the package or some articles of it or send the package or some parts of it back to Parliament for further discussion. If Parliament accepts the package as is, the president then has the right to challenge it at the Constitutional Court. Constitutional change proposals are referred to a referendum if the number of deputies who vote in their favor is between 330 and 367. The president can refer proposals to a public vote in this situation or send them back to Parliament for further discussion. Currently, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has 337 seats in Parliament, followed by the CHP (97), the MHP (69), the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) (20), the DSP (6), the Turkey Party (TP) (1) and the Democrat Party (DP) (1), along with 11 independents, adding up to 542 seats in total. |
The CHP needs the signatures of 110 deputies before it can turn to the Constitutional Court for the annulment of the package. It currently has 97 seats in Parliament. It will need 13 other deputies to support it, or it will not be able to apply to the Constitutional Court. Supported by the Democratic Left Party (DSP), the CHP managed to annul a package that allowed women to wear the headscarf on university campuses. But the DSP currently has only six deputies in Parliament, and that course is likely to fail.
Although there are former-DSP members who are now independent deputies in Parliament, these individuals are unlikely to support the annulment application. Sources expect at most five DSP deputies to back the CHP. The CHP will try to attract independents and MHP deputies for the rest of the signatures it needs. However, the MHP has banned its deputies from acting together with CHP deputies, but it is not yet clear whether the MHP will change its stance in the last minute.
The CHP administration has decided to set up a commission made up of party members with a background in law to establish on what grounds and for which articles in the package the CHP can file unconstitutionality claims. Some other lawyers from outside the CHP are expected to support the commission. Reports prepared under orders of Supreme Court of Appeals President Hasan Gerçeker will also serve as a guide for the CHP. Furthermore, the views of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) will be helpful in this regard. Both the Supreme Court of Appeals and the HSYK maintain that the package -- with the changes it introduces to the structure of the Constitutional Court and the HSYK -- violates the second article of the Constitution, which guarantees the separation of powers.
The CHP, in a similar case, managed to get the Constitutional Court to annul legislation passed with the support of 411 deputies that would have allowed wearing headscarves on university campuses.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AMANDA PAUL |  |
||
| Ukraine: a lost country | |||
| MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE |  |
||
| The 52nd anniversary of May 27 | |||
| ABDULLAH BOZKURT |  |
||
| Turkey and Mexico: Distant yet so close | |||
| BERİL DEDEOĞLU |  |
||
| Yemen and beyond | |||
| ARZU KAYA URANLI |  |
||
| On Memorial Day a few words to make your day memorable | |||
| ABDÜLHAMİT BİLİCİ |  |
||
| Google kidnaps Gül! | |||
| CUMALİ ÖNAL |  |
||
| Critical months for Egypt | |||
| DOĞU ERGİL |  |
||
| Qualities of power | |||
| İHSAN YILMAZ |  |
||
| The Egyptian elections, Islam and Islamists | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| Operational errors | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| There is need for a new initiative | |||
| JOOST LAGENDIJK |  |
||
| Europe can’t have it all. Or can it? | |||
| HASAN KANBOLAT |  |
||
| Are Russian tourists being discouraged from visiting Turkey? | |||
| MELİH ARAT |  |
||
| Handmade | |||
| KLAUS JURGENS |  |
||
| Back to the ’80s | |||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
