Turkish PM proposes putting articles agreed in charter commission before Parliament

ANKARA

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was briefed on the Commission's work by Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek earlier today. AA photo

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on the opposition to immediately put before the Parliament all 48 articles on which the Constitution Conciliation Commission has reached an agreement.

“There is currently agreement on 48 articles in the Charter commission. I asked my friends to work for five days for 10-15 hours. Let’s pass all 48 articles through Parliament in a week,” Erdoğan said during an “iftar” event hosted by the civil servants’ union (Memur-Sen) in Ankara. 

He criticized the opposition’s attitude regarding the new charter process. “Let’s do this together so that we see how sincere you are,” he said, reacting to the main opposition’s rejection of a transition to a presidential system. Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu had urged Erdoğan to retreat from his proposition of a presidential system before resuming the charter talks.

“Believe me, if I knew it was true I would be the one to make the first step,” Erdoğan said.

The debate on whether the Constitution Conciliation Commission will continue to work in the summer period is still ongoing. Erdoğan was briefed on the Commission's work by Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek earlier today.