Speaking at the parliamentary group meeting of his party yesterday, Bahçeli allocated most of his speech to the discussion of constitutional changes. He proposed that work for change in the Constitution should be launched after early or general elections, that a committee of representatives from the political parties in Parliament with the name “Consensus Committee for Constitutional Change” and that a democratic convention be made regarding the articles on which the committee will reach a consensus.
Bahçeli said that if his party’s proposals are not accepted by the government, the government might still push for change in the Constitution because there are no political obstacles before it to do so. However, he warned that the government resorting to such means will make it a “focal point of activities against the indivisible unity of the nation,” as well as “being a focal point of anti-secular activities.”
The AK Party faced a closure case in 2008 over charges of “being a focal point of anti-secular activities.” The party escaped closure but was fined.
Bahçeli also warned that pushing for change in the Constitution by relying on its numerical majority in Parliament would result in a heavy cost for the government.
Explaining the red lines of his party regarding change in the Constitution, he said: “Opening the founding principles of the republic to debate, triggering a polarization among different ethnicities under the cover of democracy, legalizing separatism or remaining silent in the wake of these threats is the same as a threat against the existence of the state and the nation. No matter what everyone else says, they would mean betrayal for us. The nationalist movement will never allow those who harbor such goals to achieve their goals.”
