AKP plans new parliamentary unit to receive citizens' demands

ANKARA

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is laying the groundwork for a novel initiative aimed at establishing a new parliamentary center to translate citizens' demands into legislative proposals, local media has reported.

The envisioned center will serve as a platform for citizens to submit requests for legislative proposals or provide input on existing ones, as reported by daily Hürriyet on May 5.

Under the proposed setup, legislative experts will collate these suggestions, categorize them and present them to AKP lawmakers for consideration.

AKP officials say the initiative would provide an avenue for diverse voices — including those from academia, the business sector, labor unions, farmers and civil servants — to contribute to the legislative process.

The decision to establish such a center comes against the backdrop of Türkiye's transition from a parliamentary to an executive presidency in 2018. Under this system, legislative proposals are primarily formulated by MPs rather than government ministries.

Consequently, the parliament has previously established a department with legislative experts to offer technical support to lawmakers.

The latest move by the AKP comes amid ongoing efforts to draft a new constitution. The party's proposal, first tabled in late 2022, has yet to secure the requisite support for advancement. Under parliamentary rules, at least 37 opposition MPs must endorse the proposal to trigger a referendum.

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş is spearheading discussions on the constitutional amendment. In recent days, he held meetings with leaders from various political parties represented in parliament, including the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), the İYİ (Good) Party and the Felicity Party (SP).

Notably, President and AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's recent meeting with CHP leader Özgür Özel marked the first such high-level engagement between the parties in eight years.

Discussions centered on the AKP's constitutional proposal, with Özel highlighting the importance of "upholding the existing one."

The discourse on constitutional reform continued as DEM Party co-chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan joined discussions with Özel.