ANKARA – Turkey’s secular establishment vowed yesterday to campaign for a No vote in a September referendum on constitutional reforms, seen as a test of confidence in prime minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government.
Setting the tone for what could be a hot political summer, a senior judge and the main opposition party criticised a constitutional court ruling that left proposals to limit the power of the judiciary largely intact. Opponents see the reforms as a government attempt to seize control of all levers of the state and undermine Turkey’s secular principles.
Mr Erdogan says the reforms are needed to bring Turkey’s military-drafted constitution in line with those of European democracies, and to enhance the Muslim nation’s bid for European Union membership. “With the referendum in September and general elections in mid-2011, Turkey will be going through an uninterrupted campaigning period, which raises the risk of policy inertia and concerns about fiscal performance,” said Wolfango Piccoli from the Eurasia consultancy.
Secularist critics say the reforms, which include measures to make the military accountable to civilian courts, would also allow Mr Erdogan’s governing AK Party to stack senior court benches with judges of its own choosing. The senior judiciary is seen as the last bastion of Turkey’s secularist old guard, as the military has been contained by EU-driven reforms introduced earlier by Mr Erdogan.
“We will vote No on September 12th,” said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the secularist opposition Republican Party (CHP), which had asked that the entire package be thrown out.
Mr Kilicdaroglu agreed that Turkey needs to update a charter written under military rule following a coup in 1980, but he said the AK Party’s package would politicise the judiciary.
“Turkey needs a more contemporary, modern constitution, but this one is not the answer to the demands of Turkey,” he said.
Kadir Ozbek, head of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), which appoints senior members of courts, said the proposed changes violated the separation of powers.
“[The court’s ruling] did not meet our expectations. A more substantive cancellation was needed,” Mr Ozbek said.
The constitutional court annulled parts of proposed measures that would have given more leeway to the president to appoint members of the HSYK, a powerful body which has often been at odds with the AK Party.
Also deleted was language that would have limited other judicial bodies’ choice of nominees for the president to pick from, when appointing judges to the constitutional court’s bench.
Critics say the AK Party has Islamist roots and aims to roll back Turkey’s secularism. The AK Party denies any such plans, and sees itself as a democratic conservative party, like Christian Democratic parties in Europe.
Analysts said the September referendum will turn into a vote of confidence for the AK Party, which has held power since 2002 and has transformed Turkey into one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. However, opinion polls have shown support for the AK slipping, raising the possibility of a return to coalition governments. – (Reuters)