AKP panel to begin constitution work on June 4

ANKARA

A commission formed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to draft a new constitution for Türkiye will hold its inaugural meeting on June 4, reports have said.

Established under the direction of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the commission will be chaired by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz.

Other members include AKP vice chairs Efkan Ala and Mustafa Elitaş, deputy leaders Hayati Yazıcı and Ali İhsan Yavuz, spokesperson Ömer Çelik and parliamentary leaders Abdullah Güler, Özlem Zengin, Muhammet Emin Akbaşoğlu and Bahadır Yenişehirlioğlu.

It remains unclear whether Erdoğan will personally attend the session. On May 27, the president told AKP officials he had assembled a team of 10 “law experts” to expedite work on the new charter.

"We, as the People’s Alliance, hope to meet with other political parties on the same ground [for the new charter]," Erdoğan said.

The AKP articulated its vision for a new constitution in its 2023 election manifesto under the theme "A New Constitution for the Century of Türkiye."

"The developments achieved so far in the field of rights and freedoms and the work to be carried out in the coming period will only become permanent with the establishment of a constitutional order based on human dignity," read the document.

Erdoğan and his party have long criticized the existing constitution for its origins in the 1980 military coup. The path to a new charter remains challenging as the AKP lacks the parliamentary majority needed to advance the proposal.

The president said on May 28 the current constitution has "problematic" language and called for a simpler, clearer and more practical text.

"The team we have assigned will hopefully do a very meticulous study," he told reporters returning from a visit to Azerbaijan.

"We want a text that is free of tutelary traces, that will strengthen democratic legitimacy and that will secure rights and freedoms."

Erdoğan said he is open to cooperating with the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), provided it adopt a conciliatory stance. "But unfortunately, such an approach is out of the question," he added.

In a statement on May 22, Erdoğan suggested he may not seek another term as the current constitution limits his eligibility.

His closest ally, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, responded the following day, saying Türkiye is “very much in need for Erdoğan, the architect of the roadmap of the new century."

He previously suggested constitutional amendments to allow Erdoğan to run for office in the next elections.