As the new legislative year begins...

The 3rd legislative year of the 28th Term of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye began yesterday.

An interesting development at the opening was the decision by the CHP Central Executive Committee (MYK) for the CHP Parliamentary Group to stand up as President Erdoğan began his speech. While this is not the main focus of this article, I would like to open a parenthesis here.

The first protest action against a President in Parliament was carried out by the Democrat Party group. When the 8th legislative year of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye began, the date was November 1, 1946. When President İsmet İnönü arrived at the assembly to deliver his opening speech, Democrat Party deputies protested by not standing up. President İsmet İnönü delivered a unifying speech, emphasizing that the transition to a multi-party system had taken place not only in the parliament but also in local governments, and that the hostility between the two parties should now end (Toker, 1991: 154). Interestingly, on May 22, 1950, the Democrat Party group did not stand up again during President Celâl Bayar's entry into the general assembly. However, this time they applauded Bayar from their seats. The CHP Group, citing state traditions, stood up but did not applaud Bayar.

On October 20, 1989, DYP leader Süleyman Demirel and SHP leader Erdal İnönü did not attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Turgut Özal in parliament. In 1993, the Welfare Party (Refah Partisi) group did not attend President Süleyman Demirel's swearing-in ceremony, while in 2007, the CHP group did not attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Abdullah Gül. This opposition between parties, which began with the transition of Turkish politics to a multi-party system, turned into a tradition and continued for years. And today, for the first time, as the calendar shows October 2024, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel decided to break this tradition of protest. In his statement after leaving the Assembly, he said that normalization brings benefits to both the country and the party, signaling that he would continue along this line in the coming days. Apart from this development, the handshaking of the leaders and the warm relationship between the party groups were another noteworthy element. We will watch and see how this "warmth" reflects on politics. Let us close the parenthesis we opened on this subject for now, to be expanded in future articles.

Of the 42-minute opening speech President Erdoğan made in the Assembly, 17 minutes were devoted to the Gaza-Lebanon-Israel triangle, approximately 10 minutes to the new constitution, and the remaining part to the economy. Looking at these three topics, we can say that the new constitution may be heavily present on the AKP's agenda in the coming period. So, what kind of change could the government mean by a new constitution?

We know that 119 articles of the 1982 constitution, which was drafted after the 1980 coup, have been changed. It is obvious that the issue is not the content of the constitution, but certain articles that are intended to be changed. Among these articles, there are presumably some issues concerning the electoral system. The 50+1 rule, Presidential Candidacy, and Election could be included under these headings. On the other hand, they declared that they had no intention of changing the first four articles. However, this does not show that they do not have such an intention regarding the preamble (dibace) of this constitution.

For the CHP, becoming a partner in such an attempt to draft a constitution could cause major problems in terms of the consolidation of the opposition, and could also lead to entering an election period in which it would have difficulty expressing itself. I fear that the message that normalization will continue also indicates the possibility of the CHP's presence in the new constitution process. Let us wait and see.

References

Toker, M. (1991). Demokrat Parti'nin Altın Yılları 1950-1954. Istanbul: Bilgi Yayınevi.

https://www.milliyet.com.tr/gundem/protesto-gelenegini-inonu-nun-yemininde-dp-li-vekiller-baslatti-1931397