Erdogan Appoints Legal Team to Draft New Constitution, Sparking Fears of Extended Rule

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a press conference with German Chancellor in Istanbul on October 16, 2021. (AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a press conference with German Chancellor in Istanbul on October 16, 2021. (AFP)
TT
20

Erdogan Appoints Legal Team to Draft New Constitution, Sparking Fears of Extended Rule

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a press conference with German Chancellor in Istanbul on October 16, 2021. (AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a press conference with German Chancellor in Istanbul on October 16, 2021. (AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday he has appointed a team of legal experts to start working on a new constitution — which critics say could allow him to remain in power beyond 2028, when his current term ends.

Erdogan, who has led Türkiye as president since 2014 and was prime minister for more than a decade before that, has advocated for a new constitution arguing that the current one, which was drafted following a military coup in 1980, is outdated and retains elements of military influence even though it was amended several times, Reuters reported.

“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 local administrators in a speech. “For 23 years, we have repeatedly demonstrated our sincere intention to crown our democracy with a new civilian and libertarian constitution.”

Under the current constitution, Erdogan cannot run again unless early elections are called or the legal framework is changed. Critics see the push for a new constitution as a possible path for re-election, allowing legal changes that would bypass the constitutional term limits.

Erdogan, who has grown increasingly authoritarian over the years, has denied seeking a new constitution in order to remain in power, saying last week “we want the new constitution not for ourselves, but our country.”

Erdogan’s ruling party and its nationalist allies lack the votes needed to usher in a new constitution. Some analysts believe the government’s recent effort to end the decades-long conflict with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is part of strategy to gain the support of a pro-Kurdish party in parliament for the new charter.

The effort to introduce a new constitution comes months after Ekrem Imamoglu, the popular mayor of Istanbul and a key Erdogan rival, was arrested and jailed on corruption charges.

His arrest has been widely viewed as politically motivated although the government insists Türkiye's judiciary is independent and free of political influence. It triggered widespread demonstrations calling for his release and an end to Türkiye's democratic backsliding under Erdogan.



EU Sanctions Iranian Individuals Accused of Targeting Dissidents

European Union flags fly outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
European Union flags fly outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
TT
20

EU Sanctions Iranian Individuals Accused of Targeting Dissidents

European Union flags fly outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
European Union flags fly outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

The EU has imposed sanctions on eight people and one entity responsible for the targeting of Iranian dissidents for assassination on behalf of Iran's government, the European Council said in a statement on Tuesday.

The sanctions, over what it called "serious human rights violations" and "transnational repression", included asset freezes and travel bans, the council said.

The Council listed the Zindashti Network, which it said was a criminal group uconnected to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security that has carried out numerous acts of transnational repression, including assassinations of Iranian dissidents, Reuters reported.

It also included the Zindashti Network's boss Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti - who it said was an Iranian narcotics trafficker and organised crime boss - and some of his associates. Zindashti and his network have previously been sanctioned by the United States.

The Council, the European Union's governing body, is also targeting Mohammed Ansari, the leader of the Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force Unit 840, who it said ordered the assassination of journalists critical of the Iran.

It said that the listings confirmed the EU’s concerns about transnational repression by Iranian state bodies through the use of proxy agents, in particular involving criminals and organised crime networks targeting dissidents and human rights defenders across the world, including on EU territory.