The centralisation of authority has always raised several questions in the global political arena. While USA and Pakistan have congratulated Erdogan on the successful completion of the referendum in Turkey out of pragmatic reasons, Europe has highlighted serious concerns over Turkey switching from a parliamentary system, to an executive presidency.
The referendum that has been passed in Turkey, will make significant changes in the constitution of Turkey. These constitutional amendments include giving the President the power to dissolve the national assembly, a power we are familiar with ourselves due to the 8th Amendment which only created political instability and political strife. The office of the Prime Minister will be abolished, and the president will have the power to appoint the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors.
The citizens of Turkey have voted in favour of the constitutional amendments, with 51 percent voting for the amendments. While Europe has concerns over the abolishment of the separation of powers in Turkey and has threatened to put a stop to talks of accession to the European Union, they must also realise that the decision has been taken by the populace of the country. Turkish people have grown wary of the parliamentary system over time because coalition governments have weakened the governance setup and the writ of the state. Polarity between people has only increased in the recent years, and that has resulted in a loss of consensus over the decisions of the state.
The Executive presidency had already been a long standing policy of Erdogan, and it does give too much power into his hands, even though people have voted for it. While the Turkish opposition is up in arms, the people have been won over by Erdogan’s personality, and will only realise much later what this change means for their democratic rights: They have effectively chosen to have parliament subordinate to the executive. Yet, these are the times we live in. Personalities like Erdogan, Donald Trump and Narendra Modi have been able to captivate populations, ushering a trend of democracies holding executives the most important state organs.