Parties drafting Constitution should at least agree on fundamental rights: Speaker

ISTANBUL

Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek gave an interview on private broadcaster NTV, April 17. AA photo

The four parties in the Turkish Parliament drafting a new Constitution should at least agree on the articles on fundamental rights, Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek said in an interview with private broadcaster NTV April 17. "[We should agree on] all the provisions that are not related to the [political] system. The chapter on fundamental rights, for example. There are also provisions, such as the immunity of deputies, that do not depend on the system. We can also count the [provisions on] the judiciary," Çiçek said, adding that the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) bid for a presidential system made negotiations on this matter difficult.

"If an agreement is made on these topics and only the system is left [to be agreed on], new alternatives can be brought," he added.

Çiçek also said that with the municipal elections set to be held in March 2013, the political race would not permit a healthy environment to draft a new Constitution. He nevertheless admitted that even though the discussions in Parliament's Constitution Conciliation Commission have lasted much longer than expected, now each party's opinion on each provision had become clear. “We have at least collected what the parties think, this is an important gain," he said.

In 17 months of work, the commission has handled some 125 articles. The parties have reached a full consensus on 30 articles, while the other 95 were set aside due to disagreements. The most controversial sections include the Preamble, the "unchangeable" first four articles and the legislative, executive and judicial sections.