Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced the first steps towards constitutional reform. Efkan Ala, vice chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), has backed the initiative, stating that there is a shared political desire in Turkey to establish a new constitution.
Speaking at an AKP meeting in Ankara, Erdoğan announced that he had commissioned ten constitutional lawyers to draft a new constitution. He said that the aim was to leave the ‘disgrace of the military constitution’ behind, referring to the current 1982 constitution, which was drafted by the junta after the 1980 military coup.
Erdoğan explained that his party had repeatedly shown the will to introduce a new, civil and liberal constitution over the past 23 years, but had always failed due to the opposition’s resistance. This time, the party wants to work with others in parliament to find a consensus, Erdoğan stressed, stating “We hope to find common ground with the other parliamentary groups”.
The Turkish president also placed the constitutional initiative in the context of security policy developments. Following the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) withdrawal from the armed struggle, Turkey is now in a new phase, he said. Erdoğan emphasised it was important to maintain a “responsible tone”, and said that he was pleased to see that the DEM Party has been adopting this tone.
“We ignore those who do not want terror to end,” Erdoğan said, stating, “If we achieve a Turkey without terror, then our country will also reach new heights in the areas of economy, freedom and diplomacy.”
AKP Vice-Chairman Efkan Ala also commented on the initiative on the sidelines of a press conference. He described the current constitution as a source of political crises, saying that “In Turkey, constitutions have not prevented but triggered crises – in 1960, 1971, 1980, during the post-modern coup in 1997, the e-memorandum in 2007, during the corruption investigations in 2013 and the attempted coup in 2016.”
According to Ala, a new constitution must be a socially unifying element, not a cause of tension. “All parties agree that we need a new constitution. Then we should sit down at a table and clarify what is meant by that – and what changes are necessary,” he emphasised.
Even if the AKP had an absolute majority, they would not want to decide on a new constitution on their own, Ala explained and stressed that the goal is a broadly supported solution with the approval of large sections of society.
In a recent interview, Besê Hozat, co-chair of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Executive Council, also highlighted the need for a new constitution that would guarantee the rights and political participation of Kurds and other minorities in Turkey. “Without this, there will be no real transition from armed resistance to democratic politics,” she added.
