Turkey needs a new constitution and the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) has the capacity to create it, Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop said Thursday.
Şentop commented on a future constitution while answering reporters' questions following the evaluation meeting of the 27th term of the fourth legislative year held at the TBMM ceremony hall.
"Turkey needs a new constitution. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey has the capacity and power to make this constitution. A new constitution can be made if there is a determination in this matter both legally and politically, and if there is a serious and sincere will," he said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Feb. 1 had announced, "It is time for Turkey to discuss a new constitution again." He later said that work had begun towards a new and civilian constitution for the people as the 1982 Constitution had lost its validity. He emphasized that the new constitution will be the product of a transparent process.
Since 1982, the current Constitution, drafted following a military coup, has seen several amendments. The bloody 1980 coup, which led to the detention of hundreds of thousands of people along with mass trials, torture and executions, still represents a dark period in Turkish political history.
Amid debates for a new civil constitution, Erdoğan said that Turkey would have a comprehensive, clear, democratic and liberal constitution to guide the country in the upcoming century. The president wants Turkey to have a civilian-drafted constitution by 2023, coinciding with the centenary of the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. He has also underlined that the doors are open for all political parties to contribute to constitutional reform.
Presidential system
Şentop also touched upon the opposition's objection to the existing presidential system. Şentop emphasized that he defended the current system and that he did not believe its shortcomings were caused by constitutional regulations.
"It is impossible for anyone to argue that the Turkish Grand National Assembly is the place to solve problems," he said.
"I think the early election speeches are the habits of the parliamentary system before the presidential government system," he added.
It has been more than four years since Turkey switched from a parliamentary system to the current presidential system after the majority of Turkish voters opted to establish the new framework.
Turkish voters narrowly endorsed an executive presidency in the April 16, 2017 referendum with 51.4% of the votes in favor. The official transition to the new system took place when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took the presidential oath of office in Parliament after the June 24, 2018, general elections, in which he won 52.6% of the votes.
The next presidential and general elections are scheduled to be held in 2023.