site.btaErdogan Highlights Adoption of New Constitution as One of Turkiye's Most Important Tasks

One of the most important tasks for the Turkish government is the adoption of a new Constitution to replace the current one, introduced after the 1980 military coup, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, quoted by Turkish media.

Erdogan addressed the Turkish people in Istanbul last night on the anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkiye. The President's speech began at 19:23 local time, which was symbolic due to the association with 1923. The speech was preceded by the national anthem.

One of our main priorities for the near future is "to get rid of the disgrace of the coup-era Constitution and to get a free and unifying basic law that is in line with the spirit of Turkiye's 100th anniversary", Erdogan pointed out.

The head of State has repeatedly spoken of the need to adopt a new Constitution, which has been in place since 1982, including during his election campaign in May this year. After a referendum in 2017, Turkiye's parliamentary form of government was replaced by a presidential one, but no new Constitution was adopted. The parliament, in which the majority of seats are held by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Erdogan, is expected to consider a draft new Constitution shortly.

Erdogan also mentioned the "Century of Turkiye" plan, containing the AKP's programme for the second century of the Republic.

“The Republic that we proclaimed on October 29, 1923 has today reached its first century and is on its way to the second century, which we call the 'Century of Turkiye'. Today, Turkiye is a country that provides assistance to all those in need in the region and around the world. Wherever there is an oppressed person or a person in need, Turkiye will come to his aid,” the President stated.

He recalled that around 1.5 million people took part in the rally in support of the Palestinians, which was held in Istanbul on Saturday.

The Sunday celebrations in Istanbul ended with fireworks and a light show featuring 2,023 drones depicting a crescent moon and 16 stars in the sky over the Bosphorus, symbolizing the Turkic states.