Erdogan unbound

Erdogan unbound

The “yes“ vote won by a sliver in Turkey's referendum on constitutional amendments that give sweeping powers to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. If this referendum is acted upon it will be bigger than Brexit, as it will amount to a dramatic reboot of the Turkish republic itself. Erdogan, who used to head the centre-right AKP, has been in power since 2002, and was elected president in 2014. He now wants to cement his position further.
These constitutional changes were sought in the name of greater national security ¬ to be able to act decisively without political coalitions to assuage while dealing with the Kurdish insurgency , the refugee influx from neighbouring Syria, “defeating the terrorists“ and so on. The slow slide towards authoritarianism gained pace after the aborted military coup last summer, and the constitutional changes if carried through would undermine democratic decision making altogether. Not since the Ottoman Empire would any one person have such uncurtailed authority ¬ the ability to appoint judges without parliamentary consultation, control budgets, issue binding orders, decide all senior appointments in the army and civil services, and even dissolve parliament.
Over the last year Erdogan has carried out large-scale purges in the bureaucracy, delegitimised the opposition, jailed journalists and eroded judicial independence. About 1,30,000 people have been thrown out of their jobs, and 45,000 imprisoned. Carrying through the changes would mean that he will stand unchecked and unbalanced to carry out his agenda, and such a situation can never be for the better. Democratic republics have inbuilt checks to contain the concentration of power in any one institution or individual. While the winning side gets to set terms, it is not empowered to rewrite them altogether. Untrammelled executive power is an invitation to tyranny and excess.
Citing widespread polling violations in the referendum, the opposition has vowed to put up a fight. The European Commission has also urged Turkey to seek the “broadest possible national consensus“ before carrying through any changes. This is advice well worth heeding. No matter what the Turkish establishment decides, this narrow margin of victory is not a warrant to create a second republic. It is a clear indication that there are two powerful ideas at war ¬ and one riding roughshod over the other can only result in bitter social turmoil.