Turkey's AK Party pushes forward with plan for new civilian constitution
Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is continuing work on a new civilian constitution to replace the military-era charter, senior party official Hayati Yazıcı said Wednesday. Speaking at a party event in Ankara, Yazıcı said the current constitution no longer reflects the country's evolving political and social realities. The effort follows President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's renewed call last week for a "new, inclusive, libertarian and civilian constitution."
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is pressing ahead with plans for a new civilian constitution to replace the military-era charter, senior party official Hayati Yazıcı said on Wednesday, describing the current text as outdated.
Speaking at a "Law and Politics Meetings" event organized by the AK Party's Ankara branch, Yazıcı, the party's deputy chair, said the current constitution no longer reflects Turkey's evolving political and social realities. "When you value and take into account the nation's right to make a constitution, it has become necessary to make a more effective and dynamic constitution," Yazıcı said. "We are working on this."
A commission appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is preparing proposals for constitutional reform and is expected to brief Erdoğan after its next meeting before determining a road map, Yazıcı said. Erdoğan renewed his call for a new constitution last week, saying a "new, inclusive, libertarian and civilian constitution" would strengthen Turkey's democracy.
The current constitution was drafted following the 1980 military coup and adopted in 1982, a period marked by political repression, mass detentions and executions. The AK Party has long advocated replacing it, including as a central plank of its 2023 election platform under the "New Constitution for the New Century of Türkiye" initiative.
"The right to make a constitution belongs to the nation," Yazıcı said, arguing that previous constitutions were drafted under military influence rather than through broad public consensus. He added that democratic practices give meaning to constitutional principles.
Yazıcı also addressed the government's "terror-free Türkiye" initiative to dismantle the PKK, which has waged a four-decade terror campaign that killed over 40,000 people. Referring to earlier reconciliation efforts, including the 2012-2014 "solution process," he said the government remained committed to pursuing stability while honoring the sacrifices of martyrs and veterans.