Erdo?an's declaration of 'system change' outrages Turkey's opposition

President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an?s declaration of a de facto shift in Turkey?s administrative system to a presidential system has infuriated opposition leaders, who say the declaration indicates ?rule by diktat.?

In remarks delivered in his hometown, the Black Sea province of Rize, on Aug. 14, Erdo?an said Turkey had witnessed a change in the president?s new role and asked for the constitution to be updated to recognize his de facto deployment of enhanced powers.

?There is a president with de facto power in the country, not a symbolic one. The president should conduct his duties for the nation directly, but within his authority. Whether one accepts it or not, Turkey?s administrative system has changed. Now, what should be done is to update this de facto situation in the legal framework of the constitution,? he said.

The remarks came exactly a day after incumbent Prime Minister, the leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Ahmet Davuto?lu, failed to forge a coalition alliance with the Republican People?s Party (CHP), edging Turkey closer toward new elections.

According to CHP leader Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu, Erdo?an?s statement marked the ?acknowledgement of a coup.?
?He [Erdo?an] wants this coup that he initiated to be settled on legitimate, legal grounds. He says, ?I want this to happen by making a constitutional change.? He wants to implement the coup process in the same way that putschist Kenan Evren did [before Turkey?s 1980 military coup]. A putschist first stages the coup and then builds the coup?s legal infrastructure,? K?l?çdaro?lu told daily Hürriyet.

In the run-up to the presidential election in August 2014, which he won in the first round, Erdo?an repeatedly stated that the current constitution grants ...