13 September 2023; MEMO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on Tuesday his call for a new and civilian constitution for his country, the local media reported widely. Erdogan made his call during a speech at a conference on Tuesday which considered the need for a “2023 constitution to replace the 1982 constitution”.
The president called upon all political parties, academics specialised in the field and other experts to help to draft the new document.
The conference was held at a museum in the capital, Ankara. The museum is a former prison where the junta led by General Kenan Evren seized power in 1982. It was that military junta which drafted the current constitution used in Turkiye.
“A country such as Turkiye, with 2,000 years of state tradition, the experience of a republic reaching its first century and 73 years of democracy, deserves a much better constitution,” said Erdogan. “Unfortunately, no one other than the AKP [the ruling Justice and Development Party] and the MHP [Nationalist Movement Party] came up with a new constitutional charter during this process. When it came to taking concrete steps, the opposition turned their helm in the other direction and disappeared.”
According to Erdogan, the issue of a new constitution has always been a top priority for the government. “We will never stop struggling until we bring the new constitution, which is one of the limbs of our ‘Century of Turkiye’ goal.”
