Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is set to convene a first meeting of its 11-person commission tasked with discussing a constitutional overhaul on Wednesday, media reports said Tuesday.
The commission, chaired by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, includes AK Party Deputy Chairs Efkan Ala and Mustafa Elitaş, as well as Hayati Yazıcı, Ali Ihsan Yavuz, party spokesperson Ömer Çelik and other deputy chairs.
The first meeting, set to be held at the Presidential Complex in the capital, Ankara, is expected to tackle the commission’s method of operation.
In meetings following Eid al-Adha, the Muslim holiday taking place later this week, the commission will develop comprehensive strategies for a new constitution.
AK Party Chair and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could also chair some of the meetings scheduled for the following months, party insiders have said.
“Various experts will offer their contributions to the commission’s work,” Yılmaz told reporters following a Cabinet meeting late Monday.
The constitution commission will operate on a broad basis of consultation, not in a closed-off manner, Yılmaz assured.
Lawmakers, academicians, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and representatives of various social groups will be in constant contact and utilize ongoing studies and accumulating knowledge, according to the vice president.
“The commission will contribute to the process politically and legally,” he added.
The AK Party has long campaigned for a constitution, including a declaration announced during its 2023 election campaign. The “New Constitution for the New Century of Türkiye” declaration, which refers to the second century of the Republic of Türkiye, underlined the need for a new constitution. “Establishing a constitutional order based on human dignity for the prevalence of developments in the field of rights and freedoms is necessary,” the 2023 declaration said.
The declaration also said the constitution would preserve democratic gains acquired during the AK Party’s governance and would ensure a high-standard democracy, guarantees for freedoms and the supremacy of law.
The government has been pushing to overhaul the Constitution for over a decade now, which was enforced in 1982 following a military coup that led to the detention of hundreds of thousands of people along with mass trials, torture and executions, which still represents a dark period in Turkish political history.
The AK Party has a comprehensive draft prepared by a scientific council during the pandemic, which it’s hoping to submit to Parliament. AK Party ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) also announced a constitutional draft that includes over 100 articles from the past.
The Constitution’s first four articles, which state the essential tenets of the Turkish republic, have been subject to debate for years. The main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), has repeatedly accused the AK Party of aiming to change the articles, which the ruling party flatly rejects.
The current 1982 Constitution's first three articles regulate the basic principles of the country, namely: that the country is a republic; that it is a democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law; that its language is Turkish, its capital is Ankara and that the first three articles cannot be altered.
Last summer, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş oversaw talks between political parties on a constitutional overhaul and met representatives of all parties at Parliament to discuss a new constitution. He has said the general consensus was “positive” but that the CHP “still remains far from the table.”
The CHP is inclined to reject a constitutional overhaul, with its leader, Özgür Özel, claiming such a change has raised “other kinds of negotiations” without elaborating.
At least 400 lawmakers must ratify a new constitution draft in Parliament. Anything over 360 votes would allow a referendum, allowing the people to decide.
