Gov’t to speed up process for new constitution with presidential system: PM

ANKARA

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The process for writing a new constitution, which will include a shift to a presidential political system from the current parliamentary one, will be accelerated “to meet the expectations of the Turkish people,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has vowed.

Stating that a roadmap has already been drawn up, Davutoğlu said a “constitution committee” has been established within the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).        

“Today we carried out a long and detailed work with the members of this committee in the Dolmabahçe office,” the prime minister said on March 26 during the World Turkish Entrepreneurs Assembly of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) in Istanbul.        

“From next week our committee will start writing it [the new constitution]. We are planning to complete writing it next month. During this process, we are open to any proposal from the business world,” he added.      
Davutoğlu again said the new constitution will include a presidential system.

“We are determined to take every step for a democratic and liberal constitution that adopts the presidential political system,” he said.  

A “Constitution Conciliation Committee” of 12 deputies -- three from each of Turkey’s four parliamentary parties -- had first met on Feb. 3 in a bid to redraw the current constitution, which dates back in parts to Turkey’s military regime of the 1980s.        

However, the parliamentary committee tasked with planning the new constitution broke up on Feb. 17 over the AKP’s demand that the new charter be based on a presidential system, which no opposition party backs.