Turkey’s ruling party set to submit constitution bill within two weeks

ISTANBUL

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Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will submit to parliament within two weeks a draft constitution reform law that will expand presidential powers, the head of the assembly’s constitutional commission said on Nov. 28. 

Doğan News Agency cited the AKP’s Mustafa Şentop as saying 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 Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) opposition in order to win the necessary parliamentary approval for the reform before taking it to a referendum. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP argue Turkey needs the strong leadership of an executive presidency, akin to the system in the United States or France, to avoid the fragile coalition governments that hampered development in the past.