Türkiye seeks to ditch its patchy Constitution, a legacy of a military junta. Spearheaded by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), efforts to replace the current Constitution with a new one entered a new phase on Tuesday. Numan Kurtulmuş, speaker of the Parliament dominated by the AK Party, met with main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) parliamentarians at the Parliament on the issue.
The meeting between Kurtulmuş and CHP leader Özgür Özel appeared to be conducted in a warm atmosphere, signaling easing tensions between the CHP and the AK Party. These tensions may be further alleviated when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan receives Özel on Thursday in their first formal meeting.
Kurtulmuş and Özel held a joint news conference following their meeting that lasted about one hour. Kurtulmuş said he conveyed to the CHP how they sought to create a process based on negotiations to draft a new constitution.
"He reminded me that he never commented on the possible content of the constitution, highlighting they should prioritize methods first. Parties do not create constitutions; they simply make proposals. This is the nation’s constitution,” he said.
The CHP does not openly support a new constitution, and it disagrees with the AK Party on several issues. Kurtulmuş said they aimed for the new constitution drafted as a new social contract, with the highest possible votes in favor, “far over 400” in Parliament.
“We have to proceed with utmost caution not to turn this matter into a social divide or social polarization. In this context, my meeting (with Özel) has been fruitful and constructive,” he said, adding that Özel frankly voiced his views.
Kurtulmuş said he would continue his visits to political parties about the new constitution and hoped that they aim to wrap up discussions by the end of May and start formal negotiations on the topic after Parliament’s next recess.
He noted that the current Parliament was the most diverse in years, and some 95% of the public is represented in terms of the number of lawmakers from different parties. He noted that he would also seek the views of parties without a parliamentary group.
The next stage of discussions will involve civic society, including non-profit organizations, academia and legal experts.
For his part, Özgür Özel said politicians cannot ignore the agenda of the people, adding that they should be aware of where a new constitution stands in the list of people’s expectations. He did not comment further, citing that he should first discuss the matter with the party’s administration.
“We will discuss Mr. Speaker’s assessment of the issue in our executive board meeting. But as I told Mr. Speaker, if we will discuss something new, we will adhere to it. If you buy a new suit, you should wear it. So, we should amend the constitution if we are going to adhere to it,” he said.
Özel highlighted the importance of dialogue between parties. “If politicians (from different parties) do not shake hands, adversaries of democracy will cheer. We value this platform of dialogue we have here,” he said.
The debate over the Constitution has been lengthy for over a decade. The AK Party championed the struggle to gain the support of other political parties to draft a new constitution.
The opposition has been reluctant and, at times, outright hostile to the attempts to create a new constitution. Their reasons are mostly political and they oppose a constitution to be “imposed” upon them by the government, despite Erdoğan’s repeated remarks that they want to consult with other parties before starting the work.
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. The 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.
Insider sources said the president will be bringing up the matter at his meeting with Özel while the CHP leader is expected to broach economic problems, foreign policy and the “judicial crisis,” the turmoil that rocked Parliament in January when an imprisoned opposition lawmaker was stripped of his parliamentary status, who was convicted of attempting to overthrow the government in 2013.
Last week, Erdoğan said he could raise to Özel an offer to “bring Türkiye an innovative and libertarian constitution,” something he often argues Türkiye “desperately needs to shed the coup mentality” looming over Turkish democracy.
“The maintenance of the executive presidency system and the continuation of the 50%+1% rule is a necessity of the gains of people’s democracy struggle,” Erdoğan’s chief adviser and presidential judicial policies council deputy chief Mehmet Uçum said Sunday on X.
The 50%+1% rule means a presidential candidate must secure over 50% of valid votes to win the election. This rule was enforced after the shift to the presidential system and led to alliances in politics.
However, ahead of last year’s general elections, Erdoğan had floated the idea of making a constitutional amendment to change the requirement.
As for what the constitutional overhaul entails, Uçum said the first three articles of the current document are “indispensable” for the AK Party. The top three articles of the Constitution state that Türkiye is a republic, a democratic, laic and social state governed by the rule of law, respecting human rights and loyal to the nationalism of founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. It is also an indivisible entity with its language being Turkish.
Regarding the main principles of the new constitution, Uçum suggested a constitution that is "civil," "libertarian" and "inclusive" in the definition of citizenship, "protective" of natural resources as well as "the material and spiritual existence of individuals," and "allows for social policies."
According to insiders, the ruling party aims to draft a constitution with 90-100 articles, as opposed to the 177 articles and 16 temporary items in the current document.
“But if the opposition refuses to support our draft, we will take our proposal to the public,” an AK Party official said last year.
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.
The AK Party retained 268 seats in the May 14 parliamentary polls, far higher than its closest rival, the 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). Together, they have 323 seats.
