Parliament Speaker Kurtulmuş calls for 1921 Constitution: 'It is a necessity'

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş attended an iftar program with members of parliament. President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also participated in the program.

Speaking at the program, Kurtulmuş said the following:

NO ELECTIONS FOR 4 YEARS!

"Many political parties and candidates competed in the local elections, but this competition, conducted with great maturity, and the fact that the election results were accepted by everyone with great maturity, actually demonstrated a significant indicator of Turkey's democratic standards. Following these local elections, which were carried out with great maturity and whose results were accepted without hesitation by all members of the nation, Turkey will be governed for a period of 4 years without elections until 2028.

CALL FOR INTERNAL REGULATIONS

There are two fundamental responsibilities before the 28th term of Parliament in terms of raising the standards of Turkish democracy in the coming period. One is that I hope and wish for this issue to be resolved rapidly through dialogue between parties so that the Parliament can finally have new internal regulations that we have been talking about for years—regulations that are democratic, more participatory, expand the right to speak, accelerate decision-making processes, and increase the quality of legislation. The second fundamental feature of this period is the necessity of creating a new, contemporary, democratic, and inclusive constitution. Throughout Turkey's 150-year history, the country has always been governed by constitutions that were products of coups, created by those who saw themselves as superior to the nation, who saw themselves as having the authority to govern the country, and who did not leave the task of constitution-making to the nation.

EMPHASIS ON THE 1921 CONSTITUTION

Now, this Parliament has the opportunity to create a participatory, strong constitution for Turkey, just as in the 1921 Constitution. As long as we pursue this matter with good intentions. It is long past time for Turkey's civilian politics to be liberated from this current constitution, which, no matter how many times it is amended, still carries the dark traces of the 1980 and 1960 coups. This is not a fantasy; it is a necessity for raising Turkey's democratic standards."