Constitutional reform in Turkey, carried on the referendum

The Turkish parliament approved a proposed ruling party bill to amend the constitution.
Under the proposed “Justice and Development Party, changes are expected to curb the powers of the Constitutional Court of Turkey – one of the main guarantor of the country’s basic law, expanding the authority of Parliament, and the reform of the Supreme Council of Judges and public prosecutors in charge of the judicial system.

All amendments will be made in more than 20 articles of the constitution, which remained unchanged since the adoption after the military coup in 1980. According to the statement of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the changes in the fundamental law are intended to bring the political system in line with EU requirements and make it more democratic. The Prime Minister noted that the bill provides for increased monitoring of human rights, and provides more extensive rights of civil servants.

Despite assurances from the ruling party is that constitutional reform is not aimed at undermining the secular foundations of the state and is not intended to increase the influence of Islamists in the political situation, the bill has drawn sharp criticism in the society. The opposition “National Movement Party, which tried to secure support for the Prime Minister, voted against changing the constitution.

However, despite this, a supporter of the prime minister managed to gather 336 votes of legislators 550-seat parliament, needed to declare a national referendum. Expected date to be appointed to the 60-day period after signing a decree by the President. According to the publication, after a vote is scheduled for July 2010.

“Nationalist Movement Party has already declared its intention to appeal to the Constitutional Court to block the referendum, as proposed by the ruling party amended in its opinion, are not aimed at democratizing the political system, and the increasing influence of Islamists.

Stay with 2002 the government “Justice and Development Party has repeatedly been criticized for trying to change the political system, based on the strict separation of power and religion.Thus, in 2007, Erdogan’s party has decided to lift the ban on wearing Islamic head scarves in universities, citing the fact that because of him, some families do not allow girls to attend classes. Such actions of the authorities were sharply criticized by the opposition, accusing Erdogan of trying to undermine the secular foundations of the state.