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MHP dragging its feet on constitutional amendments
The AK Party government announced plans last month to press ahead with a 22-article constitutional reform package to be in force until a new Constitution is drafted. With the MHP voicing support for the package, the AK Party postponed bringing it to Parliament in order to let the MHP examine the package.
Following talks between the AK Party and the MHP, the MHP has clarified its stance regarding the reform package.
The MHP suggested that a consensus committee, which will have representatives from all parties in Parliament, be established. The MHP also recommended that the committee draft a new constitution and that it be approved by the Parliament to be formed after the general elections of 2011. Since the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) already announced that it would not support any constitutional amendments, the MHP’s suggestion seems impossible to achieve because the CHP would not send any representatives to the consensus committee.
The AK Party interpreted the MHP suggestion as a move aimed to buy time and hence decided to press ahead with the package in Parliament alone.
The MHP’s attitude led to reaction within the AK Party’s ranks. Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Bekir Bozdağ, AK Party deputy group chairman, said: “The MHP seems to support the constitutional amendments, but it is actually attempting to prevent them. If you read the statements of MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, you will see that he pretends to support the reform package but is in fact trying to prevent its implementation. This is a typical Bahçeli attitude.”
The AK Party’s reform package was drafted by Parliament’s Constitution Committee, which is headed by Burhan Kuzu. The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) already announced that it would support any constitutional amendments. The Democratic Left Party (DSP) is also expected to support the constitutional amendments.
Election threshold may be lowered
In the meantime, Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin announced on Sunday that lowering the 10 percent election threshold in Turkey was likely.
“There may be an article [reducing the election threshold] in the constitutional reform package,” Şahin said in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, where he was attending a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
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