Long-awaited constitutional change is expected to be the top item on the agenda as the Turkish Parliament returns from a two-month recess on Tuesday.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be opening the 28th legislative term at Parliament, where he will broach several key issues, including a new constitution, changes to parliamentary bylaws, the economy, as well as domestic and foreign developments.
“Constitutional works are one of the most significant missions Parliament will have in the new legislative term,” Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş told reporters Monday.
“Both in terms of content and method, it’s possible to debate the constitution at Parliament on legal ground as discussions mature on all public levels,” Kurtulmuş said.
“It is necessary to work on a new constitution that will adhere to Türkiye’s realities and meet our people’s needs,” he said, adding that he would work to ensure a democratic attitude and keep the issue open to debate among lawmakers.
Erdoğan’s government has been pushing to overhaul Tükiye’s Constitution for over a decade now, which 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.
Erdoğan insists the Turkish nation is “owed a civilian, libertarian and inclusive” new constitution, and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has a comprehensive draft prepared by a scientific council during the pandemic, which it’s hoping to submit to Parliament.
AK Party ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) also has a constitutional draft including over 100 articles.
Before the recess, Kurtulmuş oversaw talks between political parties on the matter of constitutional overhaul and has visited representatives of all parties at Parliament since January to discuss a new constitution.
He has said the general consensus is positive towards a new constitution, but the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) “still remains far from the table.”
The CHP is inclined to reject any constitutional negotiations with the AK Party over the Constitutional Court’s ruling on Can Atalay, a jailed opposition deputy stripped of his parliamentary immunity this year.
When asked about the opposition’s attitude on the issue in an interview during his return from the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Erdoğan told reporters that the AK Party-led People’s Alliance was “determined on its path to a new constitution.”
“We have no problem with the first four articles of the constitution,” Erdoğan added. These articles cover the state’s identity and official language and, assert its form of government, define the flag, national anthem and capital, and have been a staple of the Constitution since 1921. According to Kurtulmuş, the majority of Parliament does not want any changes to the said articles.
At least 400 lawmakers must ratify a new constitution draft in Parliament. Anything over 360 votes would allow a referendum, allowing the people to decide.
People’s Alliance, featuring the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), doesn’t have the parliamentary majority, but insiders have alleged the bloc could make new moves to persuade the opposition, including changes to the current presidential system.
Since its founding, the modern Turkish state has been governed under four constitutions, with the first adopted in 1921, changing in 1924 and 1961 before the Constitution of 1982 was implemented.
The document has undergone nearly 20 amendments over the years to keep up with global and regional geopolitical conjectures. The most notable changes were introduced via referendums in 2010 by enabling the trialing of the 1980 coup plotters in civil courts and 2017 by replacing the parliamentary system with an executive presidency.
The AK Party attempted an overhaul in 2007 when it employed a commission to produce a draft, but it was shelved upon heated criticism from the opposition. Since then, the party has been working on “stronger” material. Its proposed changes focused on freedom, the right to security, the right to a fair trial, freedom of speech and the rights of women and people with disabilities.
The party said it would host public gatherings to take suggestions from ordinary citizens on new fundamental laws and launch a workshop once the legislative term begins to discuss a road map to a new constitution with the participation of academicians and legal experts.
Up for voting is the new legal package proposed by the AK Party, which will pick up from the last legislative term.
The ninth judiciary package, an omnibus bill to improve Turkish laws, includes special legislation for those spying or committing other crimes for foreign intelligence services.
It is expected to pass with priority voting since it comes at a time of heightened espionage activity in the country.
As the Palestinian-Israeli conflict rages on, Türkiye has uncovered several networks operated by Mossad in the country. They are accused of recruiting Turkish nationals and people of other nationalities living in the country to spy on Palestinians, particularly people associated with the resistance group Hamas. Earlier this year, authorities have also discovered several Syrians working for the French intelligence.
The proposal has been criticized as an “agency of influence,” but the AK Party said the package didn’t include such a change, citing efforts to “combat new types of espionage” for the article. “The nature of espionage has changed in modern times as it now includes crimes committed through different techniques,” party officials have said.
Upon insistent reactions from the opposition, the article was removed from the ninth package but could be included again based on the new term’s discussions.
Lawmakers will also be discussing bills on several other topics that have busied the Turkish public in recent months, including the establishment of a commission to investigate violence, abuse and ill-treatment of children, notably following the killing of an eight-year-old girl in southeastern Türkiye last month.
Parliament is expected to discuss a bill that changes the law of competition and regulates digital platforms to prevent global giants like Amazon, Facebook and X from controlling the market.
A bill on teaching profession law, which includes the establishment of educational academies, will also land in Parliament. The first portion of the proposal, which consisted of 22 articles, passed in the last term, but it was later postponed to this legislative term.
