PM Erdoğan: New Constitution will be much shorter and much less complex

The government expects opposition parties to help participate in the drafting of the constitution starting in October, says Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before his departure for Azebaijan, adding that the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, was not trying to impose its own version of the constitution

The top agenda of Parliament will be the preparations of a new constitution when the legislative body re-opens in October.Turkey’s new constitution will be shorter and much less complex than its current charter as it represents the people “using the language of the people,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday.

“We want the new constitution to be shorter and simpler compared to the current Constitution. We don’t want it to be filled with ‘buts,’ ‘howevers’ and temporary clauses. We want it to be in the language of the people,” Erdoğan said, responding to questions from the media prior to his departure for Azerbaijan on Wednesday.

“All my citizens living in the west, east, north and south will be able to say that it is their constitution,” Erdoğan said.

Opposition contribution

The government expects opposition parties to help participate in the drafting of the constitution starting in October, Erdoğan said, adding that the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, was not trying to impose its own version of the constitution.

The AKP has already begun “doing its homework” based on the recent developments the country has experienced, Erdoğan said.
“There are efforts by nongovernmental organizations and efforts to get citizens involved in the process. Our nine-person commission is working on these basic principles and will come to a conclusion. A possible commission created with opposition parties will also meet with NGOs, academics and the media,” said the prime minister.

The Republican People’s Party, or CHP, however, criticized the AKP on Tuesday, saying it was not being inclusive in its constitutional works.

Asked to comment on the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP’s, demand to be exempt from taxes as part of the party’s democratic autonomy project, Erdoğan said, “Turkey, with it’s 780,000 square kilometers and 74 million citizens, is a whole. No one should try to [act against] this unity.

“Everyone has to pay their taxes, and those who don’t will pay the price,” said the prime minister, criticizing the pro-Kurdish party’s request to be exempt from taxes while receiving financial support from the government.

“We support the people in the region so that they have the same opportunities as everyone else. Political parties do not concern us,” added Erdoğan.

The AKP promised before the June 12 general elections, in which it received 50 percent of the votes, that a new charter would the priority of the party in the new term.

July 27, 2011
SOURCE: Hürriyet Daily News