In his recent Friday (October 28) speech, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised a new constitution that would guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens.
He said, “The shelf life of the constitution of the Sept. 12 drafted after the military coup in 1980 has already expired.” He promised to strengthen law, pluralism and equality in the country with the new constitution.
the leader further added that he’s trying to save the country from the coup as the existing referendums do not prevent the country is not helping improve the situation of the citizens.
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Presented as his vision for the country’s development, the speech was organised ahead of the upcoming June elections. On October 28, he declared the idea of “Century of Turkey Vision,” ANI reported.
He said, “We want to make the 100th anniversary of our Republic the turning point of a new era that will change politics in Turkiye with its style, functioning and results.” “Bringing a new constitution as a product of the national will is one of the first goals of our Century of Turkiye vision. We are determined to implement it with the approval of our parliament and the approval of our nation. It is the most fundamental right of our nation, which has paid the price of protecting its homeland for a thousand years, its Republic for a century, its democracy for 80 years, and its independence on July 15 (because of the failed coup attempt), to have such a constitution,” he added.
However, under his rule, the autocratic rules under his leadership have severely declined.
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As per data from several world reports, the country has been mentioned among the weak nations when it comes to press freedom and gender equality. Such as Turkiye ranked 117 out of 139 nations as per
According to Word Justice Project Rule of Law 2021, Turkey ranked 117 out of 139 positions. The World Press Freedom Index 2022, ranked Turkiye at 149th out of 180 countries. In the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap report 2022, Turkey stood at the 124th position out of 146 nations.
The above-mentioned data clearly reveals that authoritarianism in the country is increasing and media freedom is declining rapidly.
Turkiye’s constitution was passed in 1982, with 19 amendments and three referendums under the ruling party AKP.
People in the country have been opposing Erdogan and his policies blaming him for the deteriorating situation in the country. The question that arises now is whether people will choose him again as the leader or whether will it have a new govt next year.
(With inputs from agencies)
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