According to experts who talked to Sunday's Zaman, Erdogan's statement partially stems from ambiguity in the "hybrid" system Turkey has had since 2007, but the public will not endorse his ambitions simply because he imposes a new system. "You can either accept it or not. Turkey's government system has been de facto changed in this regard. What should be done now is to finalize the legal framework of this de facto situation with a new constitution," Erdoğan said, during a meeting with local civil society organizations in his hometown of Rize on Aug. 14. Turkey has a parliamentary system and the president is largely a ceremonial position. The president had been elected by Parliament until October 2007, when the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party) suggested a holding a referendum to change the Constitution to use a popular vote in order to challenge the military's opposition to the election of an AK Party member to the presidency. Erdogan is the first president to be elected by popular vote, held on Aug. 10, 2014, and he now seeks to change the role to one with greater authority. In the very recent past, it was Erdogan who was the underdog and who challenged the power of the establishment. Ironically enough, following Erdogan's call to finalize the de facto change, Selahattin Demirtaş of the Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HDP) has now challenged Erdoğan by proposing a referendum on the question of the presidential system Erdogan desires. Yet despite Erdogan's never-ending ambitions, polls have consistently indicated that the majority -- including AK Party- supporters -- are reluctant to see a presidential system in Turkey due to fears of institutionalized one-man rule. A leading pollster, Adil Gür, had announced in April that 70 percent of the public and 40 percent of AK Party voters were against the kind of presidential system Erdogan envisions.
