Turkey’s Erdogan rewriting constitution to stay in power? Here’s what we know

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently appointed a team of legal experts to draft a new constitution for Turkey. Advocating for a new constitution, the Turkish president stated that the current document stands “outdated” and has “elements of military influence” from the 1980 coup.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has appointed a team of legal experts to draft a new constitution for Turkey.(REUTERS)

“As of yesterday, I have assigned 10 legal experts to begin their work, and with this effort, we will proceed with the preparations for the new constitution,” Erdogan told his ruling party’s administrators on Tuesday.

“For 23 years, we have repeatedly demonstrated our sincere intention to crown our democracy with a new civilian and libertarian constitution,” the Turkish president added further.

When was Turkey’s Constitution drafted?

Turkey’s current constitution was drafted in 1980, following a military coup. It was ratified in 1982 and replaced the version which was enforced in 1961.

Over the years, the 1982 version of the constitution has been amended 21 times with key changes to reflect the changing geopolitical contexts. For instance, one of the key changes introduced was after the 2017 constitutional referendum which ended the parliamentary system in Turkey and adopted a presidential one.

In the 2017 referendum, the number of parliament seats were also increased and the president’s power were expanded to have more control over the appointment of judges in the Supreme court was also increased

Will Erdogan increase his term?

As per the current constitution, a Turkish president can stay in office for a five-year term and for two consecutive terms.

Erdogan has been the leader of Turkey since 2003. While the Turkish leader is on his third term in office, he argues that this latest term is constitutionally valid due to the shift from parliamentary to presidential system.

Amid the backlash, Erdogan has also defended the drafting of a new constitution.

“We want the new constitution not for ourselves, but for our country. I have no interest in being re-elected or running for office again,” he told reporters on Thursday. Despite this statement, Erdogan’s actions have stated otherwise.

Earlier this year, Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and Erdogan’s key presidential competition was arrested on corruption. Imamoglu and the opposition have denied the charges of corruption, and his arrest has been largely viewed as politically motivated.

Erdogan’s current term ends in 2028, but many have viewed Imamoglu’s arrest as part of the Turkish’s president grab for power.