Recep the Legislator: Erdogan decided to rewrite the Constitution

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has convened a special legal group to prepare a new Constitution for the country. In his opinion, the current version of the basic law is a legacy of the era of the military coup in 1980, and therefore it needs to be updated. Critics believe that in this way the Turkish leader, who has been in office since 2014, is trying to prepare the legislative ground for the next five years of the presidency. According to current legislation, his nomination for a third term is not envisaged. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

In the military control mode

"For 23 years, we have repeatedly demonstrated our sincere intentions to crown our democracy with a new civil libertarian Constitution," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said about the start of the work of a team of 10 lawyers on the new Basic Law of the country.

The current Constitution was adopted after the 1980 military coup by General Kenan Evren. According to the Turkish leader, it "still contains elements referring to the military administration, despite the introduction of a number of amendments."

The last of them was introduced in 2017, when the presidential system was introduced in Turkey instead of the parliamentary system of government. This opened up the possibility for Erdogan to be re-elected as president, but after the elections in 2023, the politician has already exhausted the entire available limit.

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The authorities called for strengthening buildings, rather than going to rallies.

"The new, civil Constitution will give us the opportunity to get rid of this forever. We are determined to create a new Constitution that will also become a means for Turkish politics to prove its maturity and include in the inventory of our beloved country a full list of freedoms reflecting universal standards," the head of state stressed.

The Turkish leader also explained the need for constitutional changes by the fact that Ankara continues to "implement its strategy to combat terrorism," an important event in which was the self-dissolution of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, recognized as a terrorist organization in Turkey.

For the benefit of the people or not

Critics of the Turkish leader believe that Erdogan's current initiative is explained by his desire to be re-elected president for a third term. The current Constitution does not allow this. The head of state himself denies any personal interest in constitutional changes, stressing that he is doing this in the interests of the Turkish people.

He declares that he is not going to be re-elected and run again. However, back in 2024, his ally in the parliamentary coalition, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bakhcheli, expressed the idea that it was necessary to amend the Constitution in order to "extend the power of the current president indefinitely."

However, it will not be so easy to amend the Basic Law. The ruling Justice and Development Party needs the support of at least 360 of the 600 members of parliament to organize a popular referendum or 400 votes for the direct adoption of the Constitution.

However, Recep Tayyip Erdogan may have another legal reason to nominate his candidacy for the third time. This will happen if, for any reason, the parliament announces early presidential elections during his second term, which began in 2023 and expires in 2028.

This possibility is mentioned in the 116th article of the current Constitution of Turkey.

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If everything goes according to plan, Erdogan will be able to take credit for solving the most difficult internal issue.

What do the experts think

In an interview with Izvestia, Alina Sbitneva, a researcher at the Department of the Middle and Post-Soviet East of the INION RAS, noted that this is not the first time that the current President of the Republic of Turkey has encroached on this Basic Law of the country, and discussions about changing the country's Constitution have been going on for many years.

— Let me remind you that in 2017, these conversations received their first practical framework. A referendum was held on the adoption of a package of amendments, the essence of which boiled down to a practical transition to the presidential system. Then, by the way, the amendments were adopted with a creak, because the number of those who supported them only slightly exceeded 50%. Erdogan thus reset his term and got the opportunity to be re-elected to the post of president. And now he will remain in this post until 2028," the political scientist explained.

Sbitneva explained that the Justice and Development Party is essentially a follower of those pro-Islamist circles that were excluded from political affairs as a result of the coups. Her course can be described as overt counter-capitalism.

The expert notes that on Erdogan's initiative, one of the points of the new Basic Law of the country should be the consolidation of the right of Muslims to wear religious clothes in state institutions. This issue has also been actively discussed for a long time. She recalled that it was strictly forbidden under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Sbitneva emphasizes that the first articles of the Turkish Constitution, including those declaring commitment to the principles of Ataturk, are immutable according to the current law.

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What strategy will the current authorities of the country choose to resolve the conflict?

In this case, in her opinion, it turns out that it is more likely that we are talking not just about changing, but about creating a fundamentally new law, which, however, may take a very long time.

— Now, even changing certain provisions under the current legislation of Turkey is by no means a fast process, let alone such radical changes and the adoption of a law from scratch. Another, equally important question is what to do with the "legacy of Ataturk" and the secular part of the population, which is not enthusiastic about this counter—extremism, the expert said.

In this regard, she believes that in a certain sense, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is taking a very serious risk.

Vladimir Avatkov, Head of the Department of the Middle and Post-Soviet East at the INION RAS, Professor at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia that six principles, the so-called six arrows of Ataturk, remain an important point regarding the amendment of the Basic Law.

— Most of them are no longer valid in the modern context, but they are formally enshrined in the Constitution. After the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the conflict between the two parts of Turkish society became especially pronounced. The issue of the transformation of the Basic Law can only increase the internal split, the analyst believes.

The Turkologist drew attention to the desire of the current establishment to maintain its influence by changing the Constitution, gain even more political support, and shift the attention of Turkish society from serious economic problems.

— At the same time, the objective need to change the Constitution cannot be denied. Perhaps not in the adoption of a new one, but at least in a deep revision of the current one," the expert concluded.