President Erhürman signs Political Parties (Amendment) Law despite objections

President Tufan Erhürman said he signed the Political Parties (Amendment) Law passed by the Assembly of the Republic, although he does not consider it correct for democracy and intra-party democracy. He said he did not use his power to return the amendment to parliament in order to avoid adversely affecting parties' election preparations.

In a statement on his social media account, Erhürman said election bans had taken effect and little time remained before the vote, while parties were making their final preparations. Under previous rules, candidates were chosen through primaries overseen by the Supreme Election Council or, in exceptional cases, by the party assembly under party statutes. He said the new article removes both rules.

Erhürman criticised the change being made shortly before elections and said he found the level of ambiguity in the amendment unacceptable from a democratic standpoint. He hoped parties that do not opt for primaries would at least hold votes in their party assemblies, and said he made the statement to note the matter and warn about the future.