Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is continuing work on a new civilian constitution aimed at replacing the country’s military-era charter, senior party official Hayati Yazıcı said Wednesday, describing the effort as essential for strengthening democracy and national unity.

Speaking at a “Law and Politics Meetings” event organized by the AK Party’s Ankara branch, Yazıcı said the current Constitution no longer reflects Türkiye’s evolving political and social realities.

“When you value and take into account the nation’s right to make a constitution, it has become necessary to make a more effective and dynamic constitution,” Yazıcı said. “We are working on this.”

Yazıcı, deputy chair of the ruling party, said a commission appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is preparing proposals for constitutional reform and is expected to brief Erdoğan after its next meeting before determining a road map for the process.

The AK Party has long advocated replacing the current Constitution, which was drafted following the 1980 military coup and adopted in 1982 during a period marked by political repression, mass detentions and executions.

Government officials have repeatedly described the charter as outdated and incompatible with Türkiye’s democratic transformation over the past two decades. Calls for a new constitution were also a central part of the AK Party’s 2023 election platform under its “New Constitution for the New Century of Türkiye” initiative.

The proposal envisions a constitutional framework centered on human dignity, expanded rights and freedoms, democratic governance and the rule of law while preserving reforms introduced during the AK Party’s years in power.

Erdoğan too renewed last week his call for a new constitution, saying a “new, inclusive, libertarian and civilian constitution” would offer an opportunity to strengthen Türkiye’s democracy.

Yazıcı said constitutional reform should be shaped by civilian politics rather than tutelage-era institutions.

“The right to make a constitution belongs to the nation,” he said, noting that previous constitutions were drafted under military influence rather than through broad public consensus.

He also emphasized that implementation was as important as legal text itself, saying democratic practices give meaning to constitutional principles.

Yazıcı also addressed the government’s “terror-free Türkiye” initiative, reiterating Ankara’s determination to eliminate terrorism from both Türkiye’s domestic agenda and the wider region.

Türkiye is working to advance an initiative to dismantle the PKK, which has waged a four-decade terror campaign that killed over 40,000 people and sowed discord both at home and across the border in Syria and Iraq.

Referring to earlier reconciliation efforts, including the 2012-2014 “solution process,” Yazıcı said the government remained committed to pursuing stability while honoring the sacrifices of martyrs and veterans.

He added that national unity and brotherhood remained the country’s greatest strength and said the government would avoid any steps that could undermine public trust or national sensitivities.