Erdogan wants to change the constitution again to stay in power

Erdogan returned to the issue of the need to update the country's basic law, which has been in force since 1982. According to him, several previous constitutions were "written at the direction of the guardians and imposed on the people." Türkiye needs a new constitution, and with the current document, the country cannot move on, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. Broadcast of his speech at the symposium "Strong Türkiye".

"If we exclude the constitutions of 1921 and 1924, then all subsequent constitutions were written at the direction of the guardians and imposed on the people," the president said, TRT Haber reports. According to him, it is necessary to "escape" from the current constitution, which appeared as a result of the military coup of 1980. Erdogan said the updated constitution should be "inclusive and liberal, created by civilians."

Amendments to the Turkish Constitution are adopted by the Parliament. The approval of the amendment requires the support of 3/5 votes of deputies.

This is not the first time Erdogan has proposed changing the basic law of the country, he again called on all political forces to actively join this work. Erdogan made promises to change the constitution of the republic during the presidential elections in 2023.

The current Constitution of Türkiye was last changed in 2017. Then Erdogan achieved amendments, after which the full power passed from the prime minister to the president of the country. This allowed Erdogan (who had already been prime minister for two terms) to hold presidential elections and win thanks to administrative resources and suppression of the opposition.

Erdogan did not say exactly how the constitution should be changed, but he made it clear that his Justice and Development party did not intend to give up power.