Cohabitation alla Turca

Turkey is about to set sail in uncharted waters. Starting from Aug. 29, we are going to have a directly elected president. That is the date for the transfer of office, right after the second round of elections on Aug. 24. We will have to learn how to deal with a constitutionally strong prime minister and a directly elected president. This gets complicated considering the president will be elected, yet constitutionally weak. Turkey still has a parliamentary system, so cohabitation alla Turca is about to start.

I remember talking to a participant of a citizens’ meeting in Konya two years ago. His assigned discussion group was getting to the issue of electing presidents via direct popular vote. I asked him whether he liked the idea. He said, “Yes, why not?” His reasoning was simple: “It is good for the politicians to bring the ballot box to us once more.” Why? Turkey does not have any participatory mechanisms allowing voters to have a say on anything. Once people get elected, they have little incentive to visit their districts during their terms. As the system is very much dependent on the decision of party leaders, MP candidates need to convince their bosses, not the voters in their districts. That kills local politics. Hence, elections are the only periods for citizens to have a say. That is why there is grassroots support for more elections, including a direct presidential election.

At the same time, we all know that popular votes in presidential elections invite constitutional crises. Turkey’s Constitution creates a very powerful executive in the Prime Ministry. The prime minister is then further strengthened by the fact that he is also the head of a political party. As head of the political party, they are also the head...