Ankara, March 22: Turkey’s government held talks with opposition parties Monday seeking support for constitutional changes to curb the power of the judiciary that have irked the non-elected elite.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) says the reform was essential for the country’s troubled bid to join the European Union.
“The current constitution is not a charter that meets Turkey’s needs or the demands of the era we are in,” Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek told reporters Monday before meeting senior opposition lawmakers.
“It is very difficult to conduct and finalise the EU accession process with this constitution,” he added.
Drawn up after a 1980 military coup, the constitution is seen as one of the main obstacles to improving democracy in Turkey despite several amendments over the years to ease the country’s EU membership drive.
The government’s package, unveiled Monday and expected to be submitted to parliament before the end of the month, aims to curb the power of top judicial bodies which have often blocked key measures put forward by the government.
The package will also change the make-up of a key body which deals with the appointment of judges and prosecutors, and make it more difficult to ban political parties.
It also aims to remove an article that bars the leaders of the 1980 coup from standing trial.
The AKP insists the amendments will raise democratic standards, but the opposition says that the party’s real aim is to take the judiciary under control and tighten its grip on power — a charge Cicek denied.
“Our objective is not to strengthen our position of power, but to put the people in power… We are aiming for a functioning democracy with high standards,” Cicek said.
The AKP dominates the parliament, but its majority falls short of the 367 votes required for an outright adoption of constitutional changes.
Monday’s talks failed to materialize the concrete support the AKP needs in the general assembly.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) refused outright to back the changes which it said aimed to stave off a possible closure case against the AKP.
“These changes are a reflection of the AKP’s fears onto the constitution,” CHP leader Deniz Baykal told reporters.
The second largest opposition party, the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), signalled that it was also not on board.
“We believe constitutional changes should be decided by a commission comprising all the parties in parliment,” MHP deputy chairman Mehmet Sandir said.
The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, on the other hand, did not immediately reject any talks, saying it would study the proposals.
The party had previously said it would support the AKP’s proposal if the government also agreed to include in the package articles that the BDP wants amended.
If the government fails to draw opposition support and pushes the amendments through parliament with less than 367 votes in favour, it will be forced to put the changes to a referendum.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is ready to seek popular blessing and Interior Ministry Besir Atalay said last week that a referendum could be held before mid-2010.
The AKP has been at loggerheads with the country’s non-elected elite since it came to power in 2002.
In 2008, the party’s non-elected foes sought to outlaw it for violating the “secular” system, but failed.
—Agencies