AKP to publicize new charter draft by early 2022, says Erdoğan

ANKARA

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will be ready to publicize its drafted brand-new charter in the first months of 2022, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said while repeating his call on all political parties to do the same in a bid to create a joint blueprint.

“We are closely following the process on the new constitution. Together with our partner in the People’s Alliance, we are gradually shaping our own preparation. We wish that we, as all political parties, carry out the work on the constitution together,” Erdoğan told at an inauguration ceremony of the new premises of the Supreme Court of Appeals in Ankara on late Sept. 1.

The AKP and its ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), have vowed to introduce a new fully civilian constitution in 2023, which is the centennial of the foundation of the Republic of Turkey and will also mark presidential and parliamentary elections in June.

The MHP had already declared that it completed its own version and handed it to the AKP for deliberations. Erdoğan informed that the AKP’s draft would be publicized in the first months of 2022.

“We believe that we will produce a reasonable text that has internal consistency and that it will be approved by the vast majority of our nation and meet the needs of our country in the medium and long term,” Erdoğan said, calling on other parties to do the same.

“It will be a great achievement for Turkey if there would be an opportunity to discuss all these drafts and generate a common text,” Erdoğan stated but also stressed that past experiences do not give him much hope.

New judicial package on way

Erdoğan also vowed that his government would continue its efforts to upgrade the quality of the Turkish judicial system in the new judicial year that began on Sept. 1.

“We are not satisfied with what we have done so far. We are more interested in what we will be doing next. We are rolling up our sleeves for a new judicial package,” Erdoğan said, adding the draft of the new reforms would be submitted to the parliament as soon as after the beginning of the legislative year on Oct. 1.

The government has already legislated four substantial judicial reform packages to increase the efficiency of the judicial bodies and upgrade the level of human rights and democracy within the principles of the rule of law.