Turkish Parliament speaker Çiçek outlines steps on the way to new constitution

Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek has outlined the steps that will be taken to draft a new charter during a press conference this morning in Ankara.

Starting Nov. 15, three committees will be created to solicit the opinions of different organizations in society, Çiçek said.

One of the committees will contact political parties and constitutional organizations while a second will ask the opinions of professional organizations and unions. A third committee will seek advice from NGOs, foundations and religious communities.

Çiçek asked the aforementioned organizations to submit their written advice on new charter draft before the end of December. The committees will then invite representatives of the organizations for a verbal discussion of their charter proposals, Çiçek said.

“The process of drafting a new constitution is not a process of asserting one’s views on others or persuading others on the correctness of one’s ideas, but creating a social contract together,” Çiçek said.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

SOURCE: HURRIYET DAILY NEWS