Former Turkish prime minister and current leader of the opposition Future Party (GP) Ahmet Davutoğlu has sharply criticized the country’s presidential system of governance, calling it a “structural trap” that fosters authoritarianism and corruption, Turkish Minute reported.
Davutoğlu said the system — adopted after a 2017 constitutional referendum — has consolidated excessive power in the hands of one person and undermined democratic checks and balances.
“This system has concentrated power in one person,” said Davutoğlu. “It has rendered oversight mechanisms ineffective. Parliament is powerless, the judiciary is not independent and the media operates in a climate of fear.”
He argued that what has emerged is not a true representation of the people’s will but a manifestation of centralized authority.
“Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Davutoğlu said. “The current system has made this corruption inevitable.”
The former prime minister emphasized that his party and its allies intend to provide a political alternative to what he describes as an increasingly authoritarian structure.
Davutoğlu referenced the New Path Party, a parliamentary bloc formed by members of the opposition Future, DEVA and Felicity parties. He said their recent performance in the election for parliament speaker — securing 31 votes despite holding only 23 seats — signals growing influence.
While saying it is too early to discuss an electoral alliance, Davutoğlu confirmed that talks with the New Welfare Party (YRP) are ongoing.
“We have very good ongoing relations with [YRP chairman] Mr. Fatih Erbakan and party officials,” he said.
Addressing a wave of recent defections from his party to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Davutoğlu lamented the erosion of trust in political institutions.
“The biggest problem in politics today is the erosion of trust,” he said. “Such questionable political transfers only deepen the crisis.”
Davutoğlu also touched on Turkey’s deepening economic woes, describing a society where even the symbolic joys of national and religious holidays are out of reach.
“We are experiencing such deep poverty that even the middle class is unable to celebrate the most symbolic aspects of holidays,” he said.
He noted that pensioners and minimum wage earners can no longer afford to buy sacrificial animals for Eid al-Adha or travel to see family members.
“Even the cheapest holiday sweets are now out of reach,” he said, blaming inflation and declining purchasing power for widespread disillusionment.
“The sacred duty of sharing during holidays has become a luxury,” he added.
