'Presidential system main reason for Turkey's issues'

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - The presidential system is the main reason for Turkey's current issues, a prominent Turkish opposition leader said on Tuesday.

Speaking to her IYI (Good) Party parliamentary group, Meral Aksener criticized Turkey's presidential system for allowing the president to be a member of a political party.

Before 2017, when the new system was adopted, Turkish presidents had to give up their party membership.

This “freak system” is the main reason for the issues Turkey now faces, Aksener claimed.

"From the [coronavirus] pandemic to education, from the economy to the judiciary, this system, in which everyone turns and looks to one person's voice, is nothing more than a burden on our nation," she added.

The Turkish public opted to shift to a presidential system in an April 2017 referendum.

In June 2018, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected president, Turkey’s first president under the new system.

Turkish officials have touted the benefits of the new system, saying it eliminates inefficiencies and enables the smoother working of the administration.