New constitution AK Party’s sole option in 2011

Speaking to journalists during a visit to the city of Van on Monday, Prime Minister Erdoğan said the process of drafting a new constitution would be hastened if a “yes” emerged from the Sept. 12 referendum when the constitutional reform package will be voted upon. He added that his government had no intention of giving up on efforts to adopt a new constitution even if a “no” result is seen on Sept. 12.

Erdoğan said the amendment package is not enough to guarantee a great democratic future for Turkey although the changes are still a step forward. “If we can win a majority that will enable us to draft a new constitution in 2011, then we will draft a new constitution. We are determined about this and have no intention of compromising,” he said.

Prime Minister Erdoğan noted that they would seek reconciliation with the opposition party in drafting a new constitution. “We, of course, would like to see the opposition contribute to a new pro-freedom and pro-democracy constitution, but if it continues its current pro-status quo attitude, we will certainly make a new constitution by consulting civil society.”

Indeed, when the AK Party first came to power in 2002 a new constitution was a top item on its agenda. The course of the European Union harmonization process also made the drafting of a new constitution even more of an urgency. However, the distribution of parliamentary seats between the AK Party and the Republican People’s Party (CHP) did not allow for this.

The AK Party’s second attempt came in the wake of the 2007 elections. The AK Party won 47 percent of the vote in the elections of July 22, 2007, and one of the most important issues in its election campaign was again a new Constitution.

The AK Party set up a commission chaired by Ergun Özbudun, a professor of constitutional law, to work on drafting a new constitution. However, the draft prepared by this commission was never brought to Parliament as the AK Party didn’t do enough to support it.

A major reason behind the AK Party’s non-assertive attitude was due to a suit filed in 2008 by Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya, chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals. The prosecutor sought to shut down the AK Party at the Constitutional Court, accusing it of attempting to undermine the country’s secular principles and install a religious regime. The AK Party was not shut down by the Constitutional Court, but the court imposed a fine, cutting the AK Party’s share of the state budget by half, saying the AK Party had become a “focal point” for anti-secular activity. After this, the CHP and its supporters said this ruling meant that the AK Party had no authority to write a new constitution, as the court had now announced that it was a focal point of anti-secularism.

“I think the government was sincere in its 2007 attempt. Özbudun’s draft was an important step. But they could not go ahead. If you ask me whether they could have gone ahead and forced the situation, I think they could not have done that because there was the closure case. Now, there is no danger of closure. Society is also strongly pressuring the government. The AK Party now certainly has to do it,” Sabah daily columnist Mahmut Övür told Sunday’s Zaman.

PM should do more to make us believe in new constitution pledge

Mehmet Altan, an academic and a Star daily columnist, has some doubts that the ruling party will manage to introduce a brand new constitution and fears that Erdoğan’s vow will remain just an election promise yet again. “Why should I believe that? He also promised to change the constitution but failed to do it, citing many excuses. If the government really wants to replace the current Constitution with a new one, there can be no excuse for failing to do it. They should bring a document and say ‘this is our draft’ if they want to make us believe that a new constitution will be written,” he says.