Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party is on the threshold of reforms, according to an Armenian scholar.

Speaking to Tert.am, Vahram Ter-Matevosyan, a senior researcher at the National Academy’s Oriental Studies Institute, characterized recent restrictions on the party’s leader and members’ franchise is a historic moment.

“That means the party’s nucleus is undergoing reforms, with those who have won elections three times having to be replaced. And this issue has caused serious problems inside the party,” he said, noting that there are around 70 parliament members who can no longer seek seats in the legisltative in 2015.

The plan, according to the expert, has been proposed by PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who attempted in this manner to keep the party from stagnation.

Ter-Matevosyan believes the lawmakers dissatisfied with the move will demand guarantees for their future from the premier. They will, in all likelihood, be offered to govern communities or commit themselves to party building processes before becoming legislators, he said.

The expert expects Erdogan to unveil plans on his political future at the party’s next congress. He believes Erdogan will nominate his candidacy in the presidential polls, despite incumbent President Abdullah Gul’s plan to run for a second term.

Another key issue on the country’s domestic political agenda is the current attempts to reform the country’s constitution, Ter-Matevosyan said, adding that a planned switch to a presidential regime would lead to a centralization of power in a country like Turkey.

As for the party’s position on the Armenia-Turkey ties, he pointed out to three opinions in this connection. Particularly, the expert said that several members of the party consider the bilateral protocols an advantage for Turkey, with a group of others finding the unratified documents a stigma and a third group backing Erdogan’s proposal for launching a public debate on the 1915 events.