ANKARA, Monday, May 11, 2026 (WNP): President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday emphasized the need for a new inclusive and civilian constitution, saying the country must overcome the legacy of constitutions shaped by coups and extralegal interventions.
Addressing a gathering, President Erdoğan said the principles of rule of law, supremacy of law and good governance were fundamentally rooted in constitutional texts.
He stated that despite the adoption of four constitutions after the Kanun-i Esasi, the Turkish nation’s aspiration for a truly democratic constitution had not yet been fulfilled.
The president said the fact that Türkiye’s last two constitutions emerged under the influence of coups and non-democratic interventions had played a major role in this continuing challenge.
“Rectifying this democratic disgrace is the debt of Turkish politics,” Erdoğan said.
He stressed that a new constitution should be inclusive, libertarian and civilian in nature and described it as an opportunity to strengthen democracy on stronger and broader foundations.
President Erdoğan said the constitution should no longer remain a framework imposed upon society by coup plotters or elites, but rather become a social contract shaped directly by the will of the people and presented to the state by society itself.
