Gov’t to introduce constitution to parliament soon: PM Yıldırım

ANKARA

AFP Photo

A constitutional draft will be introduced to the Turkish Parliament after one last meeting with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said.

“After one last meeting [with Bahçeli], we will introduce the constitutional amendment to the parliament speaker’s office as a proposal of the [ruling Justice and Development Party] AKP group. If the MHP would like, we can submit it together,” Yıldırım said an address to his party’s group in parliament on Nov. 29.

Saying the draft constitution is almost finalized, the prime minister thanked Bahçeli for his “efforts in building the new constitution.”

“The constitution draft is almost finished. We will get together with Mr. Bahçeli one more time to finalize it. Mr. Bahçeli has been very constructive about this from the beginning. I personally thank him for the future of our country,” Yıldırım said.

He also reiterated his previous call for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to participate in the draft talks.

“We have no secrets. We would share this work with the CHP if they would like to join. We want to discuss it with them on any basis. Our door is open,” Yıldırım said.

The AKP will submit the draft to parliament within two weeks, the head of the assembly’s constitutional commission said on Nov. 28. 

Doğan News Agency cited the AKP’s Mustafa Şentop as saying that Turkey’s constitution and parliamentary system needed to be changed for the sake of Turkey’s progress. 

“We will give to parliament within 15 days the proposal. We will present a constitutional change for our people’s proposal in a referendum in the spring months,” he told a university conference in northwest Turkey on Nov. 28. 

The AKP is seeking support from the MHP in order to win the necessary parliamentary approval for the reform before taking it to a referendum. 

MHP leader Bahçeli said while addressing his party deputies on Nov. 29 that the two parties had agreed to most of the draft other than several points, adding that he anticipated the draft would soon be on parliament’s agenda.

“Soon, after some disagreements are eliminated, I think the draft will be introduced to parliament,” Bahçeli said, adding that he and Yıldırım would meet to tackle the problems as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yıldırım blasted CHP deputy Deniz Baykal for his recent visit to arrested former Mardin Mayor Ahmet Türk, saying it would be better to visit Sakarya and meet the famly of Muhammet Safitürk, the killed district governor of Derik in Mardin province.