Overwhelming majority of Turks want parliament to adopt decisions

An overwhelming majority of Turks have said that parliament should be the decision-making authority when it comes to matters that affect their lives, a poll revealed. The poll also showed that over 50 percent of AKP voters prefer parliamentary decision-making processes.

Tuesday March 30 2021 02:28 pm

Duvar English

Some 76 percent of Turks have said that they want parliament to adopt decisions on matters affecting their health, economy, security and prosperity, according to a poll carried out by Aksoy Research.

The poll revealed that the ratio of those wanting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to adopt the said decisions was as low as 24 percent.

Interestingly, some 53.7 percent of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) voters said that they also want parliament to be the decision-making authority.

The ratio was strikingly higher among supporters of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), with 89.5 percent saying that they back parliament's authority.

The poll was carried out with 1,067 participants on March 26 amid debates on Erdoğan deeming parliament dysfunctional via issuing unexpected midnight decrees. The AKP defends Erdoğan's moves by claiming that the presidential system gives him this authority.

Turkey switched to an executive presidential system with a constitutional referendum in 2017.. The system officially came into force on July 9, 2018, replacing a 95-year-old parliamentary system.

Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun on March 26 said that the opposition "will learn our system of governance."

The support for parliament in decision-making processes among the opposition parties was above 90 percent. Some 93.5 percent of Good (İYİ) Party voters, 93.2 percent of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) voters and 90.2 percent of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) voters said that they want parliament to decide on crucial matters.