Turkey to adopt new constitution in 2025: Parliament speaker
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Turkish newspaper Milliyet quotes Speaker Numan Kurtulmus as saying that the government's plan is to complete negotiations on the new constitution in October 2024.
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Turkish parliament in session on May 29, 2024 (AFP)
Turkey is set to finalize work on a new constitution by the end of this year, before adopting it in October 2025, Turkey's Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday as quoted by Turkish newspaper Milliyet.
"From October, we will ensure the participation of non-governmental organizations, universities, the judiciary, and various segments in the process of working on the new constitution," Kurtulmus said, adding that opinions of "all segments will be taken into account."
"Our plan is to complete negotiations on the new constitution within one year, that is, from October 2024 to October 2025, and begin the work on its adoption in the next legislative year," he continued.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was re-elected to office in a run-off last May, pledged in 2022 a reshuffle to the constitution by 2023 on the 100th anniversary of the republic's founding by Kemal Ataturk. He said then that the country's constitution, adopted in 1982 following the 1980 military coup, no longer met modern challenges.
The last amendment to the Turkish constitution took place in 2017 following a referendum that expanded Erdogan's executive powers.
The reforms struck parliament's abilities, transforming the country into a presidential republic rather than a parliamentary one.
Turkey has been dominated for more than two decades by Erdogan's ruling party AKP.
The main Turkish opposition party claimed victory in the Mayoral election in the capital Ankara and Istanbul in April, reflecting significant public frustration with Erdogan in the country's two most important regions. Turkey's third-largest city, Izmir, was also won by the opposition.
