MPs sign draft constitution before submitting to Parliament
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputies have begun signing the proposal for the new constitution, which will be submitted to Parliament next week, after the party chairman, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, announced on Thursday with the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli that an agreement has been reached between the two parties on the outline for the constitutional amendments.
The signing of the draft is expected to be completed by Tuesday next week, submitted to the Speaker's Office on Thursday after 316 AK Party deputies' signatures are received, and debated on at Justice Commission until late December.
According to the new proposed draft constitution, the president will be able to continue with a party affiliation, which is one of the most significant changes to the presidential system, as in the current Constitution the president is not allowed to continue their party affiliation and should have a non-partisan stance.
Meanwhile, a poll released on Friday by the research company Andy-Ar claims that the public has shown strong support for current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the possible first candidate for the presidency.
Responding to a question asking who should be the first president in the new system, 50.5 percent of the participants answered President Erdoğan, while the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu received 2.7 percent, and MHP's Bahçeli received 1.6 percent.
Among the participants 16.5 percent answered "I don't have an opinion/I don't know," "I don't want to answer" at 12.1 percent, and 10.8 percent refused to answer.
The AK Party has argued that the current presidential system, in which the people choose the president through elections, is not suitable for the current Constitution, and through the new amendments, the presidential role and responsibilities will be better defined. Prime Minister Yıldırım said on Thursday that, as a result of the new definition of the president, more effective political stability and trust will be established in the future.
The signing of the draft is expected to be completed by Tuesday next week, submitted to the Speaker's Office on Thursday after 316 AK Party deputies' signatures are received, and debated on at Justice Commission until late December.
According to the new proposed draft constitution, the president will be able to continue with a party affiliation, which is one of the most significant changes to the presidential system, as in the current Constitution the president is not allowed to continue their party affiliation and should have a non-partisan stance.
Meanwhile, a poll released on Friday by the research company Andy-Ar claims that the public has shown strong support for current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the possible first candidate for the presidency.
Responding to a question asking who should be the first president in the new system, 50.5 percent of the participants answered President Erdoğan, while the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu received 2.7 percent, and MHP's Bahçeli received 1.6 percent.
Among the participants 16.5 percent answered "I don't have an opinion/I don't know," "I don't want to answer" at 12.1 percent, and 10.8 percent refused to answer.
The AK Party has argued that the current presidential system, in which the people choose the president through elections, is not suitable for the current Constitution, and through the new amendments, the presidential role and responsibilities will be better defined. Prime Minister Yıldırım said on Thursday that, as a result of the new definition of the president, more effective political stability and trust will be established in the future.