On Sunday in Istanbul, thousands filled the streets to protest a historic referendum that dramatically expanded the president’s powers.
The presidential system is in many ways close to dictatorship. The more power the president wields, the more like the country is to suffer. Turkey needs constitutional reform to limit the president to one 5-year term with no right to run again for 6 years afterwards. The President of Turkey is violating Article 6 of the Turkish Constitution, which declares that sovereignty belongs wholly and unconditionally to the people. Neither states nor sovereigns have the right to exercise unconstitutional powers. See the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.