22.05.2025 14:32
During his return flight from Hungary, President Erdoğan responded to journalists' questions and delivered a message regarding the new constitution. Erdoğan stated, "We need a constitution that is not put forth by coup plotters, but by civilians. We want the new constitution not for ourselves, but for our country. I have no concern about being re-elected or running for office again."
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made statements to journalists on the plane during his return to the country after his meetings in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, where he went to attend the Turkish States Organization (TDT) Informal Summit, and answered questions.
President Erdoğan gave a noteworthy response to the question, "Why does Turkey need a new constitution? Do you think there is a consensus in the Parliament and society to create Turkey's second civilian constitution 101 years after the 1924 Constitution? Do you believe that the importance of a new constitution, that is, a civilian constitution, is recognized?"
"WE NEED A CONSTITUTION PUT FORWARD BY CIVILIANS, NOT COUP PLOTTERS"
Erdoğan stated, "Turkey is changing, the world is changing. We are living in a new era, moving towards an even newer age. In such a rapidly changing world, is it possible to achieve anything with a constitution prepared under the conditions of a coup, which, no matter how many changes are made, still wanders in the lines of a coup mentality? Haven't we seen for 40 years how difficult it is to unite society with a constitution written by coup plotters? Is there anyone who does not know that the root of many problems we face today lies in the coup constitution? Throughout my political life, I have expressed that Turkey needs a civilian, democratic, and libertarian constitution. I am still at the same point today. Turkey cannot walk into the future with a constitution written by coup plotters. We need a constitution put forward by civilians, not coup plotters. For this, we, as the AK Party, are working on it. We have also assigned some of our friends with tasks related to this. The main issue is whether the Republican People's Party will embark on a joint journey to create a civilian constitution with us. This is what matters. We say; let’s join hands. Let’s establish our commissions and create the civilian constitution as soon as possible and present it to our nation. It should be both national and local. I hope Turkey sees and experiences such a constitution. There is no reason for it not to happen.
"THERE IS NO ISSUE REGARDING THE FIRST FOUR ARTICLES"
There is no issue regarding the first four articles. In other words, we, as the AK Party, do not have such a problem, and almost all other political parties do not have such a problem either. Since there is no issue regarding the first four articles, we will only determine the roadmap. We can quickly form our delegations. We had carried out such a study during my premiership, and we can do it again; it won’t take much of our time. We want the new constitution not for ourselves but for our country. I have no concern about being re-elected or running for office again. Our concern is how to elevate our country's reputation with the steps we will take. Right now, Turkey's national income has fortunately reached a strong position. What were the figures when we came to power, and where are the figures now? Looking at exports, we have fortunately reached levels of 265-270 billion dollars. On the other hand, our per capita national income has started to peak compared to those years. Our reserves have also started to rise. Currently, our treasury is strong in terms of foreign exchange reserves.