President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, credited with ending military and bureaucratic tutelage in Türkiye, seeks to remove the last obstacle on the path to a fully democratic country: a civilian constitution. As he hosted prospective judges and prosecutors at the Presidential Complex in the capital Ankara on Tuesday, he reiterated his goal of replacing the Constitution, drafted by a coup regime in the 1980s, with a "civilian" constitution.

Since its founding, the modern Turkish state has been governed under four constitutions, with the first one being adopted in 1921, changing in 1924 and 1961 before the Constitution of 1982 was implemented. The bloody 1980 coup, which led to the detention of hundreds of thousands of people along with mass trials, torture and executions, still represents a dark period in Turkish political history.

The 1982 document has since overseen many key amendments and been modified to keep up with global and regional geopolitical conjectures. The most recent changes were introduced following the 2017 referendum, including the transition from the parliamentary to the presidential system.

The debate on crafting a new constitution has become more prominent after Türkiye reelected incumbent President Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in last May’s landmark elections. Erdoğan has been pushing to replace the current Constitution in favor of a "civilian, libertarian and inclusive constitution" when the opportunity arises. In the past few months, he has repeatedly reiterated his promise to do so.

In his speech to young men and women who attended a draw to determine their first place of assignment as judges or prosecutors, Erdoğan lamented the fact that the current Constitution was "a product of the coup." "We cannot accept welcoming the centenary of the Republic of Türkiye with a coup-era Constitution," he said, referring to the Oct. 29 anniversary of the foundation of modern Türkiye by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. "We want to crown the centenary with a civilian, libertarian and all-encompassing constitution. I heartily believe we will accomplish that like all pledges we fulfilled earlier," he said.

Erdoğan stated that Türkiye has already raised standards in the judiciary in the past 21 years, during which his party and himself won successive elections. He said the judiciary process was accelerated with the establishment of more courts and the appointment of more staff. "We simplified legal processes and made it more democratic," he said, giving the example of trials held in civilian courts for military-related crimes.

The proposed changes would focus on the topics of freedom, the right to security, the right to a fair trial, freedom of speech, as well as the rights of women and the disabled. The enhancement of these rights and liberties has seen setbacks in bureaucracy.

The plan has been prepared by the observations and reports of international mechanisms that monitor human rights in cooperation with several human rights groups.

Some of the other principles are human dignity as the essence of all rights, under the active protection of the law, and the equal, impartial and honest provision of public services to everyone. It stipulates the rule of law shall be fortified in all areas as a safeguard for rights and freedoms, and no one may be deprived of liberty due to criticism or expression of thought.

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.