Turkey to follow 4-step road map for new Constitution

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - A senior figure of Turkey's ruling party said on Wednesday that the new Constitution will follow a four-step road map.

"In the first stage, a committee comprising constitutional law experts will be established and a draft text will be put forward for a consistent, national, indigenous, civil Constitution," Muhammet Emin Akbasoglu, the deputy parliamentary group chair of the Justice and Development (AK) Party, told Anadolu Agency.

Akbasoglu said that the draft text will be evaluated by the Peoples' Alliance that consists of the AK Party and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

"[The draft text] will be definitely discussed thoroughly with all opposition parties and non-governmental organizations and will take its final form," he added.

Later, the draft will be submitted to the lawmakers for a vote in parliament, he noted.

"Even if all 600 deputies [in the parliament] say 'Yes' to this proposal, a national referendum will be held to assess the will of the people," he said.

The AK Party has 289 seats in the 600-seat parliament, while the MHP has 48, adding up to 337, but this falls short of the 360-vote majority needed to pass a new Constitution.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged all political parties to participate in drafting a new Constitution last week.

MHP leader Devlet Bahceli has voiced agreement on the need for a new civilian Constitution.