‘We should maintain parliamentary system,’ İhsanoğlu says

Presidential candidate İhsanoğlu takes a dig at PM Erdoğan, saying Turkey must continue with the parliamentary system to avoid problems Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, the joint presidential candidate of the two main opposition parties, has said the current parliamentary system fits Turkey better than any presidential system would.

“My personal opinion is that parliamentary system suits us [Turkey]. If we leave this system, then it would harm us. There are not many examples of that. The most known example is in the United States.
But its history and ours are different. Our history is similar to Europe’s. Turkey has a different structure from the day it was founded,” İhsanoğlu said during a July 3 interview with CNNTürk, when his opinion on adopting the presidential system in Turkey was asked.

İhsanoğlu appeared on a television interview for the first time since he was nominated for the presidential race by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

He said the presidential system in the U.S. was totally different than Turkey’s system and warned that “a Frankenstein would be created, if only the head [presidential system] is adopted without changing the other structures of the state accordingly.”

He also said there should be a public consensus on a possible change of system in the country.

He also stated the president should guide politics as well as acting as a referee and a center of problem-solving. İhsanoğlu also said the president of Turkey should be neutral in politics, adding that “politics should be conducted in Parliament.”

The candidate noted the importance of...