ISTANBUL, February 17: Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday the ruling AK Party would continue work on a new constitution after the main opposition CHP pulled out of a parliamentary commission charged with working on a new text.
In a speech in Ankara broadcast on Turkish television, Davutoglu called on other opposition parties to continue work in the parliamentary commission. The CHP pulled out in protest at AKP efforts to include stronger presidential powers, championed by President Tayyip Erdogan, in the new constitution.
“The main opposition announced it won’t participate in work on a new constitution because they’re unwilling to bring issues such as the executive presidency to the table,” Davutoglu said.
“We will continue to be at the table… It is our duty to compromise on a new constitution without any prerequisites … I call on all opposition parties to be at the table to be able to discuss any issue,” he said.
The AKP, founded by Erdogan more than a decade ago, has broad cross-party support for overhauling the constitution, which dates back to an era of military coups, but there are wide divergences over what a new charter should look like.-Reuters
