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ISTANBUL – Even before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was inaugurated last week, he began to make his way into the ranks of the world's strongmen.
Hours before being sworn in – after 15 years of power – Erdogan issued a 143-page executive order that changes the way almost every government department and agency in the country operates.
Since then, he has issued several equally lengthy presidential decrees and decisions, centralizing power and giving him the ability to exercise control in almost every area of life with almost uncontrolled authority.
At a time when democratic systems in the world are under increasing pressure, Mr. Erdogan, re-elected in June, is among those leaders, such as Vladimir V Putin of Russia and Viktor Orban of Hungary, who use the levers of democracy to greatly expand their authority.
Among the changes that Mr. Erdogan put in place under the new presidential regime
• The Prime Minister's Office was abolished
• The army was subjected to a firmer civilian control [19659002] • The president will draft the budget, select judges and many senior officials; [19659002•ThePresidentoftheNationalConferenceonReligiousAffairsandCentralBankandtheAmbassadorsoftheGovernorsandUniversityRectors
• Virtually none of the President's appointments require a confirmation process.
None of the amendments enacted by Mr. Erdogan was the subject of public debate before having the force of law. The vast accumulation of power completes Turkey's transition from a parliamentary system to that of 19459008, the presidential one that was approved by voters in a referendum last year.
Large orders promise months of administrative upheaval and government employees reassigned.
Critics have expressed concern over lack of control over the president's increased powers
"The state is reorganizing itself around Tayyip Erdogan," writes columnist Asli Aydintasbas Cumhuriyet last week [19659002] Many changes, analysts point out, only formalize what was already the case: it is Mr. Erdogan who makes the decisions. But the consolidation of his power is far-reaching.
Erdogan also amended the anti-terrorism law in anticipation of the lifting of the emergency state, which expires on Thursday and was put in place two years ago after a coup d'etat. 39 Military State Missed Against Him
. control – a step that the President declares to be in line with the changes required as part of the EU accession process. The block has suspended admission to Turkey for years.
But Erdogan and his Islamic comrades have long called for a presidential system and greater civilian control over the army. The recent history of Turkey has been marked by military coups, and Islamists have suffered more than others under the military regime.
Erdogan placed the chief of staff of the armed forces under the control of the Ministry of Defense, and the Supreme Military Council, which decides on senior appointments in the armed forces, was reconfigured to include more of civilian ministers than of military commanders
. Erdogan has appointed a loyalist, former chief of staff, General Hulusi Akar, as his prime minister of defense under the new system. General Akar objected to the coup of 2016 – he was taken prisoner by rebel officers on the night of the failed coup – and he oversaw a complete cleansing of the armed forces in the two years that followed
. to be as smooth as possible by appointing Akar, Turkey's best soldier, as Defense Minister, "wrote columnist Murat Yetkin in The Hurriyet Daily News,
. Erdogan described his own powers in a new decree after its inauguration. He will appoint the chief of staff of the armed forces – with the commanders of the land, air and naval forces and the deputy chief of staff – by presidential decision, which does not require any confirmation process. The president will also make promotions in the senior ranks of Colonel's security forces on the rise.
Decree 703, issued just before Mr. Erdogan was sworn in to his new term, also removed many regulations in the selection process for appointments. For example, the president will appoint the rectors of public and private universities of Turkey, without the usual preselection procedure by the university and the Council of Higher Education.
"Yes, US President Trump can appoint a replacement to a vacant seat on the Supreme Court, but he does not appoint a police chief in Massachusetts or a public theater director in Boston," Aydintasbas commented. Cumhuriyet. "He can not appoint a state governor or even a university rector," she added.
The decree also lowers the qualifications of appointed judges to the administrative courts of the government, which regulate the departments of the government. Previously, judges had to hold degrees in law or political science, but they can now be chosen in any study program, as the Minister of Justice deems appropriate.
One of the most controversial movements of Mr. Erdogan was the appointment of Berat Albayrak's son-in-law as the newly-merged Minister of Treasury and Finance
A Presidential Circular Published in the Journal Officiel weekend also placed the Central Bank under the responsibility of the Ministry
. Erdogan stressed that changes are needed to make state institutions more responsive and effective. But the latest regulations diminish the legal and practical independence of the Central Bank, said Umit Akcay, associate professor of economics at the Berlin School of Economics and Law, in comments sent by e-mail
. the days following the appointment of a new cabinet by Erdogan, who dismissed two senior officials – Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek and Finance Minister Naci Agbal – and promoted Mr. Albayrak.
Albayrak discussed the changes at the Central Bank last week in an effort to calm the markets.
"The policy of the new period aims to make the Central Bank more efficient than ever," he said at a press briefing. The decisions of the Central Bank will be dictated by market conditions, he said, promising "a more predictable, simple and determined monetary policy consistent with the objectives".
Yet the appointment of Mr. Albayrak is one of the concerns of investors. Moody's said in a statement the same day. "Such appointments will inevitably raise questions about the independence and experience of Mr. Erdogan's government," said Moody's
. Aydintasbas warned that centralizing power had never worked in Turkey.
"I believe that such a concentration of power will tire Turkey, lock the state and overburden the economy," she said. "I hope I'm wrong."
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