What will Özel and Erdoğan discuss besides the 'new constitution'? CHP officials explain...

All eyes in the political arena are turned to the upcoming meeting between AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and CHP Chairman Özgür Özel.

The leaders, who met during the April 23 reception following Erdoğan's invitation for tea to Özel, decided to hold the meeting next week.

Erdoğan stated that one of the topics of the meeting would be the work on a new constitution, declaring, “I believe that the CHP could also support such a change.” Before his meeting with Erdoğan, Özel listened to the opinions of his party's mayors, provincial chairs, and senior staff.

According to a report by Cumhuriyet; referring to Özel's remarks regarding constitutional debates, “I will not close the doors to negotiations without listening to Mr. Erdoğan,” party officials made the following assessment:

“We have stated that we are not closed to communication in this new era, as we emerged from the last elections as Turkey's leading party. Of course, we will listen to the ideas. However, this will not be the only topic of the meeting. Furthermore, a new constitution cannot be made without complying with the current one. We have a judicial crisis occurring because the current constitution is not being followed, and a deputy whose parliamentary status was revoked. There are situations such as the Can Atalay ruling, which is not in accordance with the constitution, and ECHR rulings. All of these are on our chairman's agenda.”

THE ECONOMIC SITUATION AND DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

According to CHP officials, the economy will also be on the table during the meeting between the two leaders. The officials stated, “We will definitely ask about retirees. There are also teachers waiting to be appointed. There are many such issues that society expects solutions for on our agenda.” Stating that foreign policy will also be a separate topic, the officials added, “We are all following the developments in the Middle East. Our chairman follows the Palestine issue with sensitivity, and he will certainly have evaluations on this matter with the president.”

News Source: 12punto