The new constitution will be presented to officials and groups following its drafting for discussion, Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat told a press conference at the AKP headquarters in Ankara.
“We hope that we can have the opportunity to submit it to the parliament by the new year,” Firat said.
A committee of the AKP is already studying the draft document, prepared by senior academics and constitutional experts, ahead of its being made public, he said.
“We will then wait for contributions of every citizen and institution in Turkey,” Firat said. “Two commissions will meet again after evaluations and symposiums, and the draft Constitution will be given its final shape, presented to the parliament and the parliamentary process will begin.”
Firat stressed that the draft constitution had not been prepared by the AKP, with input coming from many non-governmental organisations including the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey and the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association.
“The final draft will be the text that will be prepared after all these discussions and social contributions,” he said.
The draft Constitution will be more liberal than that of 1982, he said, guaranteeing individual rights and liberties, clearly setting out the role of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities, ensuring independence of the judiciary.
“I believe that Turkey will have a modern Constitution at the end of this process,” he said.
