ANKARA - Motherland Party Chairman Erkan Mumcu underlined that half of the Turkish voters were not represented in the current parliament and warned that the presidential election procedure would bump into an inconceivable wall at some point.
Speaking at his party's group meeting Erkan Mumcu commented on the nomination of FM Abdullah Gul as the presidential candidate of Justice & Development party.
He said the election of the president by universal vote was not a new issue and reminded that it had been high on agenda for over two years. Mumcu underlined that presidential elections have always been problematic since the foundation of the Republic and claimed that it has been the underlying cause of the military coups in Turkey.
Mumcu regarded the presidential election issue as an opportunity for Turkey to grow as a democratic country and said this opportunity has now been missed.
"The president should have been elected by universal vote. Legislative and judiciary powers should be separated. Whereas at elections, candidates that are nominated at party headquarters had always been imposed on the voters. Citizens have no choice but to yield to party chairmen's will. So, it is impossible to say that the parliament is representing the will of the nation. Therefore, at some point this process (presidential election) would bump to an inconceivable wall," said Mumcu.
Recalling that the president had the authority to ratify everything but he was nonliable, Mumcu emphasized that in democracies it was necessary for the national will to supervise over the administration.