The new draft constitution commissioned by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was for all of Turkey not just for the party's supporters, Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said late Monday.
The government was working to develop a constitution that would meet the needs of all of the country's citizens, Cicek told a press conference after a meeting of the cabinet in Ankara.
“This is not an effort for AK Party supporters nor for those who had voted for the AK Party,” he said. “We are working to come up with a constitution for Turkey.”
Turkey's existing constitution was not sufficient to meet the needs of the country and actually hinders enacting reforms, the minister said.
“That is why, it is of utmost importance that the new constitution should come at once to the agenda of the country,” Cicek said. “Efforts are under way to create tension before the text of the constitution appeared. We are working with good will to prepare a text which everybody can discuss. It should first of all be understood that this is only a draft.”
Cicek said the government expects NGOs, universities and chambers of business and industry to contribute to the discussion on the constitution.
“We tried to make use of the draft constitutions prepared by the Turkish Union of Chambers & Commodity Exchanges, preparations made by Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD), and the proposals earlier made by the parties,” he said.
The European Constitution was also taken into consideration during the drafting process he said, as were rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and Turkey's Constitutional Court.
