How to treat Turkey's replacement of parliamentary system with presidential system?

At a time of unstable international political situation and escalating geopolitical situation, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced today that he won the referendum last Sunday (April 16). This not only eliminated an uncertainty that investors had to deal with, but also promoted the Turkish lira, the local currency, to rise sharply against the US dollar on Monday (April 17). However, opponents said that there were many irregularities in the referendum and they would question the result.

Erdogan said that 25 million people have expressed their support for the referendum proposal of replacing the parliamentary system with the presidential system, and the proportion in favor is 5 1.5%. This means that the post of prime minister will be abolished, and his ruling power will be handed over to Erdogan, and the president can theoretically serve until 2029. At that time, the president will have the right to appoint ministers and the supreme judge, and he can call elections at any time. He will also gain greater influence on fiscal policy, which may deepen investors' concerns about the independence of the central bank.

Minutes after the opening of the Istanbul foreign exchange market on Monday, the Turkish lira rose 2.5% to 1 USD and 3.6 188 lira. The results of Turkey's constitutional referendum show that Turkish President Erdogan will gain huge new powers, eliminating an uncertainty that investors have to deal with.

This constitutional amendment was proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the opposition Nationalist Action Party (MHP) on 20 16 12 * *. Although the amendment won the support of 339 of the 550 seats in the Turkish Parliament in June 20 17, it did not reach the threshold of two-thirds (367) of all the members, so a referendum must be held.

The support camp said that this change can improve the efficiency of Turkey's political system, and pointed out that both the United States and France have a ruling presidential system. However, opponents worry that centralization will lead the country to autocracy.

Anthony Skinner, director of Verisk Maplecroft, a British forecasting company, said before the results were announced, "There is a view that liberal democracy and even mixed democracy can structurally prevent dictators from hijacking the political system. Erdogan's victory this time is tantamount to a blow to this assumption."

According to the state-run Anadolu News Agency, the ratio of the pros and cons in this referendum is 5 1.3% to 48.7%. However, the opposition party accused fraud, which the EU considered unfair.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition party and the People's Party (BJP), said that the legality of the referendum was open to question. The party said earlier that it would demand a recount of up to 60% of the votes. Earlier, Turkey's Supreme Election Commission (YSK) announced that ballot papers without official seals would be considered valid unless they were proved to be fraudulent.

In the affluent areas of Istanbul, some people took to the streets to protest, while others banged pots and pans at home. This expression of dissatisfaction is common in the protest against Erdogan on 20 13.

European politicians, who have increasingly tense relations with Turkey, are worried about this. On Sunday, the European Commission said that in view of Turkey's weak majority support and extensive influence, Turkey should seek extensive national knowledge on constitutional amendments.