Erdoğan labels new constitution efforts 'national duty'

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reiterated his ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) proposal for a new constitution, deeming it a "national duty."

"Constitutions made without seeking compromise are crippled beyond birth, they are closer to producing a crisis," Erdoğan stated during an event in Istanbul on May 27.

The president criticized the current charter, implemented following the 1980 military coup, for failing to achieve a national consensus. He argued that such texts "poison the relationship between the state and the citizen."

"We now have to accept some facts. We cannot continue with the current constitution, which reflects the consensus of the elites," Erdoğan said. "Turkish democracy has the power, maturity and strength to make a new and civilian constitution. I believe that a new constitution is a national duty."

The AKP's push for a new constitution lacks the necessary parliamentary majority. The initiative's success relies on obtaining support from at least 37 opposition MPs to advance it to a referendum.

Erdoğan's remarks come amid recent engagements between the AKP and the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Erdoğan is set to visit the CHP headquarters, following opposition leader Özgür Özel's visit to the AKP office earlier this month.

This marks the first such meeting since 2016, centered around discussions on the AKP's proposal.

In his speech on the anniversary of the coup d'état on May 27, 1960, Erdoğan commemorated then-Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, who was executed after post-coup trials.

"We will not forget or forgive the coup plotters. We will not forget those who prepared the ground for the coup, those who provoked university students and so-called lawyers," he said.

"The era of coups and memorandums is over in this country. The days of political engineering through summaries of proceedings, indictments and hitmen are over in this country."

Following the 1960 coup, the military junta overturned the rulings of then ruling Democrat Party and many leaders, including Menderes, facing charges of corruption, constitutional violations and treason. Menderes and ministers Fatin Rüştü Zorlu and Hasan Polatkan were executed in late 1961.

"Those who seek a way outside the ballot box can no longer be successful in this country. We will not allow anyone to ambush our democracy," Erdoğan said. "We do not recognize any power above the national will."

Erdoğan indicated that the goal is to "carry these gains even further" with a new constitution.

Since early May, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş has engaged in discussions with representatives of opposition parties about the new constitutional proposal.

However, the CHP stresses the importance of "adhering to the existing constitution," citing concerns over the non-implementation of Constitutional Court decisions, particularly regarding ex-MP Can Atalay, whose parliamentary status was revoked despite top rulings.

Other parties, including the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and the İYİ (Good) Party, have called for prioritizing economic challenges over constitutional deliberations.