The European Commission for Democracy through Law, also known as the Venice Commission, has asserted that the proposals to revise the Turkish Constitution to be voted on in a referendum on 16 April next, would be a “dangerous step backwards for democracy”. According to the Venice Commission, this transformation from a democratic presidential system “would risk degeneration into an authoritarian presidential system” in Turkey.
Independent constitutional experts were requested by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly to examine the subject and on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 March at their 110th plenary session, these experts provided their final opinion on the matter and in it warned against a “one-person regime”.
The experts argue that the amendments would remove necessary checks and balances and that these new provisions would let the new President exercise executive power alone, “with unsupervised authority to appoint and dismiss ministers, and to appoint and dismiss all high officials on the basis of criteria determined by him or her alone”. By allowing the President “to be a member and even the leader of his or her political party”, these amendments “would give him or her undue influence over the legislature”. They would also give him “the power to dissolve parliament on any grounds whatsoever” and would “further weaken the already inadequate system of judicial oversight of the executive” as well as “the independence of the judiciary”.
The procedure for adopting the amendments to be voted on in the referendum on 16 April is also questioned by the Venice Commission. The latter highlights the fact that the vote was not by secret ballot and that several parliamentarians from the second biggest opposition party were in prison when it took place. It also argued that, “the current state of emergency does not provide the necessary democratic framework for a vote as important as a constitutional referendum”.
Two other opinions on Turkey will be published this week. One involves the decree laws promulgated during the state of emergency and the other involves the, “mission, competencies and functioning of the judges of the peace deciding on criminal justice questions”.
Mogherini and Hahn appeal for calm
On Monday, 13 March, in response to the publication of the opinion by the Venice Commission, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and the Commissioner for Enlargement, Johannes Hahn, highlighted the “serious concern at the excessive concentration of powers in one office” and the fact that “this process of constitutional change is taking place under the state of emergency” in Turkey.
Tension is at a high point between Turkey and several member states, such as the Netherlands and Denmark, following the visit of Turkish ministers seeking to promote the Turkish referendum in Europe. Ms Mogherini and Mr Hahn believe that decisions with regard to the holding of meetings and rallies in member states are a matter for the member states and they call on Turkey, “to refrain from excessive statements and actions that risk further exacerbating the situation” (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc and Mathieu Bion)