Bahceli: "In democratic regimes, power must be exercised under the constitution"

Speaking to his party's parliamentary group yesterday, opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli said that last week's Constitutional Court ruling upholding the headscarf ban at universities would have serious, lasting consequences, and moreover constituted interference with Parliament's legislative authority. Bahceli said the ruling was taken for political, not legal, reasons. Stating that Constitutional Court rulings are final, binding and must be respected, Bahceli added, "However, this will not prevent us from voicing certain facts on the decision. The court can examine constitutional changes only in terms of their form, not their content, but in its recent decision, the court overstepped its authority and made its decision on the basis of the content of the constitutional changes. In a democratic regime under the rule of law, one cannot exercise a power not grounded in the Constitution." He also stressed that keeping the Constitutional Court out of political debates and not making it a tool or a party to political conflicts was crucial. Bahceli also warned, "If the current political crisis is mismanaged, it could turn into a regime crisis jeopardizing the future of the Turkey's democracy," and said his party was ready to consider any proposal from Prime Minister Erdogan to avert such a crisis.