Turkey mulls fixing president’s term at 7 yearsDecember 14, 2011 - 13:12 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - In a move to end discussions over the length of President Abdullah Gül’s mandate, the ruling party proposed legal action to fix the current president’s term in office at seven years. “The president has been elected for a seven-year term according to laws at that time. His mandate can neither be shortened nor extended. In order to put everything back on the right track, a provisional article defining Gül’s term at seven years could be inserted to the relevant law,” Mustafa Elitaş, Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy chairman told reporters yesterday. Gül’s mandate has been a matter of discussion after a constitutional amendment reduced presidential term of office to five years with a right to be re-elected through popular vote. Elitaş has become the first official to voice the need of a legal move to end discussions on Gül’s term. Deputy Prime Ministers Bülent Arınç and Bekir Bozdağ said Gül was elected for a seven-year term. Many have speculated the government left Gül’s mandate bleak on purpose so Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could run for the post. If Parliament endorses such a move, Gül will remain in his position until Aug. 28, 2014, Hurriyet Daily News reported. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Great success”: Pashinyan pleased with new border protocol Pashinyan has described the signing by Armenia and Azerbaijan of a protocol on delimitation in Tavush as “a great success”. Armenia, Azerbaijan sign protocol on demarcation coordinates Armenia’s government took on May 15 another step towards handing over four border areas to Azerbaijan. Power of One Dram sums up two-year program with Teach for Armenia Idram Junior also joined the companies during the visit, bringing with it a fascinating intellectual game for children |