Turkey’s top business organization against presidential system

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey’s top business organization is against transition to presidential system, its leader has said, while also expressing discontent with the country’s poor judicial system.

“Our position is extremely clear. We firmly believe that the most suitable system for Turkey is parliamentary one, as more appropriate for Turkey’s constitutional tradition and political culture,” Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) Chairman Haluk Dincer said, according to Hurriyet Daily News.

“We are of course against a Turkish-style presidential system,” he said. “We are worried that the idea of ‘I will take the features that I like, and will not take the ones that I don’t’ could take Turkey backward from the point it is at right now,” he said.

The possibility of transition from parliamentary to presidential system has been discussed in Turkey for years, as former Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdgan, who became Turkey’s first elected president in August, made no secret of favoring the presidential system as more efficient way of government.

Dincer also drew a dark picture on corruption in the country, saying the business world was not surprised by the scandal in Dec 2013.

“We clearly know that there is corruption in Turkey and it is on the rise,” he said, noting that studies reported by the OECD and Transparency International also indicated problems similar problems.

“The survey we conducted among 800 businesspeople showed that 37 percent of respondents confirmed there was corruption in the sector in which they operate, and 46 percent say there is a tendency to increase,” he said.

Dincer will reportedly quit as TUSIAD chairman after six months at the post, as he will not stand as a candidate at the group’s annual congress on Jan 22, 2015.