Deputy chair of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Mehmet Bekaroğlu said that the party supports Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's calls for a new constitution and underlined that they would "reply positively" to this call.
"Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's invitation for constitutional reform is a positive thing and the opposition parties should not oppose the new constitution by proposing unreasonable articles. If there is serious intention to make a new constitution that contains all the needs of Turkish democracy, we accept this invitation," Bekaroğlu said on Monday.
Bekaroğlu indicated that the aims of any potential reform should be the extension and protection of the rights of Turkish citizens based on democracy, justice, and societal and civil liberties. Additionally, he said that previous works on constitutional reform were unsuccessful because of disagreements over the presidential system, something that would continue to be a stumbling block.
Bekaroğlu believes the current problems in Turkey mostly stem from the inadequacies in the parliamentary system that was established after the military coup of Oct. 12, 1980. "It is not necessary to debate the support of the CHP for constitutional reform that improves the parliamentary system in Turkey, removes the impacts of the Oct. 12 coup and is suitable for the universal judiciary system. However, It may be unsuccessful again if the reforms include a presidential system," he also added.
Furthermore, Bekaroğlu emphasized the necessity for reforms to the electoral system. "There is already reform work being made by the CHP for the electoral system of Turkey. The [10 percent] election threshold should be decreased in the reform, and this work has already been submitted to Parliament." He also highlighted the necessity reforming the independence of the judiciary. "The judiciary is also one of the main problems in Turkey and the constitutional reforms should also include changes in that area."
