The 2024 legislative session at Türkiye’s Parliament is opening after a two-and-a-half-month hiatus on Oct. 1, with negotiations due on critical issues, among many others, like the climate change act, earthquake law, the controversial headscarf guarantee, Sweden’s stalled NATO membership and most notably a brand new constitution.

Turkish lawmakers have passed a total of 310 legislative regulations in the last term, including international agreements. An array of new bills will land on the Parliament floor that is likely to shape the next century of the Turkish republic, several officials have said so far, ahead of the country’s first centenary on Oct. 29.

While the general assembly was closed, parliamentary commissions have been working over the summer, with lawmakers and ministries drafting legal regulations in tandem and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) pacing up its constitutional overhaul proposal.

Before MPs can start discussing that, Parliament seeks to prioritize a "more humanitarian and productive work system" by modifying its bylaws, Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said this week.

While ensuring the General Assembly isn’t overburdened, a new system would also prevent the opposition’s "obstructive tactics" through hourslong discussions and group recommendations. The Parliament floor has often witnessed bill discussions running into upwards of 37 uninterrupted hours, which Kurtulmuş described as "an inhumane working order."

"All lawmakers share this responsibility in increasing the credibility of our Parliament," Kurtulmuş said.

New constitution

The top agenda is still a new constitution if President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s push in recent months to "liberate Türkiye from a coup mentality" is any indication.

The current Constitution was enforced in 1982 following a military coup that led to the detention of hundreds of thousands of people along with mass trials, torture and executions, which still represents a dark period in Turkish political history.

The document has undergone nearly 20 amendments over the years to keep up with global and regional geopolitical conjectures. Most notable changes were introduced via referendums in 2010 by enabling the trialing of the 1980 coup plotters in civil courts and in 2017 by replacing the parliamentary system with an executive presidency.

In 2007, Erdoğan’s AK Party attempted an overhaul when it employed a commission to produce a draft, which was shelved upon heated criticism from the opposition. Since then, the party has been working on "stronger" material. Its proposed changes focus on freedom, the right to security, the right to a fair trial, freedom of speech, and the rights of women and the disabled.

The enhancement of these rights and liberties has seen setbacks in the bureaucracy that have prevented them from being appropriately implemented.

Party officials have said the plan has been prepared in accordance with the observations and reports of the international human rights groups. They seek cooperation from all political parties, expert academics, universities and the general public to give the document its final shape.

"But if the opposition refuses to support our draft, we will take our proposal to the public," an AK Party official has said.

For a new constitution draft to pass in Parliament, at least 400 lawmakers must ratify it. Anything over 360 votes would pave the way for a referendum, allowing the people to decide.

The AK Party retained 268 seats in the May 14 parliamentary polls, far higher than its closest rival, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), which won 169 seats. The AK Party, however, is part of the People’s Alliance, which also includes its closest ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and together, they have 323 seats.

Headscarf guarantee

Similarly, Parliament will be picking back up a long controversial topic once it reopens: the constitutional guarantee for the headscarf and the definition of the marriage union, which was accepted by a commission before the recess.

The amendment stipulated that the exercise of fundamental rights, freedom and the utilization of property and services offered by public and private institutions cannot be contingent on whether a woman wears the headscarf or not.

The headscarf, once a source of deep discord in Türkiye when its once-powerful secular establishment saw it as a threat to the temporal order, ceased to stir controversy starting in 2007 when the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) ordered universities to lift their bans. In 2013, the issue was laid to rest for good with the democratization package that allowed headscarfed women into public institutions and four women lawmakers entering Parliament with headscarves, which didn’t cause any uproar.

However, the CHP revived the issue in October 2022 by proposing to enshrine the right with legislation in an attempt to attract support from conservative voters ahead of the 2023 polls. Instead of a bill, the AK Party sought to make constitutional amendments to guarantee the right "once and for all."

If three-fifths of Parliament knocks it down, the amendment will be rejected. However, in the case of more than 360, yet fewer than 400 votes in its favor, the amendment will pass and be forwarded to the president, who either holds a referendum or sends it back to the lawmakers for more assessments. If it secures more than 400 "yes" votes, it passes automatically and the president either opens it up for public opinion or puts it into effect directly.

Earthquake law

The issue of upgrading earthquake regulations returned to the fore after Türkiye’s 11 southern provinces were leveled by major back-to-back tremors that left over 52,000 people dead on Feb. 6 this year.

The scale of the disaster has naturally stoked concerns over the anticipated "big one" – an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 or higher – in Istanbul. Türkiye’s commercial, cultural and social hub of 16 million people is also home to thousands of decrepit and unsafe buildings urgently needing demolishing and reconstruction.

As part of an urban transformation program underway since 2012, some 695,000 independent buildings have been rebuilt in Istanbul so far, starting in districts with the most threatening settlements. But upwards of 300,000 more buildings remain precariously vulnerable, leaving millions afraid that a sudden, major earthquake in the city could cause unspeakable casualties.

Parliament will be tackling at length the legal regulations that will enable accurate soil surveys, infrastructural studies and risk analyses exclusively required for all buildings in Istanbul in need of transformation. The measures could also entail new regulations on tourism areas and guidelines.

A commission has been drafting a proposal likely to come to Parliament by the middle or end of October, an official recently said, to expedite the city’s transformation. The proposal includes suggestions for not only Istanbul but all 81 provinces, including improving construction codes, building auditing, public tenders, scaling maps and public institutions like hospitals, schools and dormitories.

Also, as part of the proposal, Parliament will discuss a comprehensive regulation to revitalize the disaster-stricken provinces, reviving city centers with cost-effective construction and amending the right ownership processes for the earthquake victims whose homes are being rebuilt.

Climate action

Up next on the agenda is the urgently needed climate law, on which Turkish lawmakers have been cooperating with ministries, municipalities, universities and nongovernmental organizations.

According to Parliamentary Environment Commission chief Murat Kurum, the law will shape the next century of Türkiye, protect the environmental rights of future generations and "deliver a climate justice in the most appropriate way."

The law is designed for Türkiye to help the international effort to keep global temperatures 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) below the preindustrial era, achieve the 2050 net zero emission targets under the Paris Climate Agreement, develop its renewable energy sources and gradually reduce greenhouse gas emissions while contributing to the transition to a cyclical low-carbon economy.

If ratified, the law would also introduce carbon taxes for the commercial sector and fines or sanctions for companies or facilities that violate the regulations.

State Business

Parliament is also due to debate a proposal by the AK Party regarding Erdoğan’s campaign promise to grant monetary aid for first-time mobile phone and computer-buying youths, as well as start a Family and Youth Bank, which, if lawmakers approve it, will be founded with state revenue from natural gas, oil and mining.

The bank would first be launched as a pilot project in the earthquake zone to give out interest-free direct loans.

The ruling party is further looking to bring up to the house floor an array of legislation to bolster the medium-term program, an economy road map aimed at facilitating price stability and disinflation through structural reforms and tightened monetary policies.

Additionally, deploying the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in foreign missions, particularly in Syria and Iraq, against terrorist groups like the PKK, its Syrian branch YPG and Daesh in Lebanon and the Central African Republic will be up for debate.

Although when the document will actually be taken up is yet unclear, another anticipated topic will be Sweden’s NATO membership if Erdoğan forwards their application to Parliament as promised.

Ankara had held out on the ratification of the long-stalled accession for months, accusing Stockholm of doing too little against terrorists, mainly the PKK, but Erdoğan finally agreed to approve the bid at a NATO summit in Vilnius in July, adding the decision was ultimately up to the lawmakers.