Yet another leaders’ tour looms ahead for charter

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will today suggest holding another round of visits with political party leaders to Cemil Çiçek. DAILY NEWS photo / Selahattin SÖNMEZ

Parliament’s Constitution Conciliation Commission will meet today under the presidency of Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek, who was reelected to his post on July 2, to make a final evaluation of the fate of the ongoing Constitution-writing process.

On July 2 Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a meeting with his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) members of the commission – Ahmet İyimaya, Mehmet Ali Şahin and Mustafa Şentop. During the meeting, Erdoğan expressed his pessimism concerning the commission’s work, sources told the Hürriyet Daily News. Moreover, the prime minister said he did not expect the commission to make any further progress.

Still, although the meeting ended with the conclusion that the commission’s work seems to have been finalized for now, the AKP will today suggest holding another round of visits with political party leaders to Çiçek.

Eventually, the decision concerning the fate of the commission will actually depend upon the leaders’ decision. It has long been known that the three opposition parties represented in the commission are in favor of continuing the work and they have said Çiçek does not have the authority to decide to end the commission’s work on his own. “The AKP is seeking a way to escape from the table. If the AKP withdraws its presidential system proposal, it will be possible to have conciliation on more articles,” Atilla Kart of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) told the Daily News. Şentop confirmed having negotiated with the prime minister and added that they had maintained that the commission’s work would continue until Parliament closes for its summer recess.

Parliament’s work schedule may extend to next week, due to a 103-article “omnibus bill” on the agenda as well as a bill with 35 articles that includes amendment to Article 35 of the Internal Service Code of the army.