Constitutional commission to hold first meeting on Thursday

As political parties have determined their deputies to participate in the Parliament's Constitutional Reconciliation Commission, Parliament speaker İsmail Kahraman sent a letter of invitation to all four political parties to attend the commission's first meeting. With the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Republican People's Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) responding positively to the invitation, the first meeting, which is set to take place on Feb. 4, will be chaired by Kahraman. The commission's first item to discuss is reportedly determining the road map to reconcile a new constitution. Commenting on the establishment of a new constitution, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said on Monday that "it is completely wrong to bypass the Parliament when pledging to construct a new constitution."

The agenda for the meeting will include determining the methods and principles for the road map for the process. While the AK Party urges a six-month term for the commission, opposition parties argue that no timeline for the commission is better. Despite the oppositions' demands for no time limit, the ruling AK Party insists that six months is enough, as during the previous government term a new constitution was discussed comprehensively and no consensus was reached on its articles. Opposition parties say that the AK Party may bring up discussions of a presidential system if there are no results from the commission's meetings.