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Is Erdogan's refusal to resign as PM unconstitutional?

President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan's refusal to leave the prime minister’s post is widely seen as a flagrant constitutional breach, amassing potential legal troubles for him in the future.
Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (C) and new cabinet members visit Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk, in Ankara July 13, 2011. Erdogan's government won a confidence vote on Wednesday to push ahead with plans for a new constitution, but a parliament boycott by Kurdish lawmakers has soured his calls for cross-party consensus. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY TRAVEL) - RTR2OU1K

In the late 1990s in Turkey, Sami Selcuk was a name synonymous with the notion of “law.” President of the Court of Appeals, one of Turkey’s two top judicial posts, he developed a reputation for his unorthodox and progressive views, which he used to assert in speeches at annual ceremonies marking the inauguration of judicial terms.

In 2001, after Selcuk’s retirement, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other principal founding fathers of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) invited him to join them. Selcuk turned down the invitation, but nevertheless remained a revered figure in legal affairs and always a respected source of reference.

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