Three Turkish leaders agree to discuss expanding the scope of charter amendments
ANKARA
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The leaders of Turkey’s ruling party and two oppositional parties have agreed to discuss expanding the scope of upcoming constitutional amendments by including 60 articles which had previously been agreed to, in another indication of continued conciliation between the country’s political parties in the aftermath of the July 15 failed coup attempt.The meeting between ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and the leaders of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on Aug. 22 produced a positive climate for further discussions on constitutional amendments, daily Cumhuriyet reported on Aug. 23.
Representatives from the three parties have already begun to work on a small-scale charter change, mainly on the justice system, following the July 15 coup attempt in order to strengthen the judicial bodies and fully cleanse them of members of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), which was blamed for the coup. The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) was excluded from the meeting due to its failure to take a clear stance against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The prospective constitutional amendment was expected to include a limited number of articles but the leaders’ meeting has brought about the possibility of the inclusion of 60 articles that were agreed to previously by the parties in parliament.
An earlier inter-party panel that had been established to continue charter works collapsed due to fundamental differences between the four political parties in parliament, mainly on whether it should endorse a presidential system or not.
“We are planning to complete works on [small-scale] constitutional works within five to 10 days,” Yıldırım told reporters late Aug. 22 after the weekly cabinet meeting. “Then we’ll be able to approve them in parliament.”
