Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called for a new constitution after his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) weekend triumph at the ballot box.
“Solving the issue of a new constitution was one of the most important messages of November 1,” he said in a televised speech in Ankara.
Erdogan, the strongman of Turkish politics for more than a decade, has long been pushing for a new constitution to replace a military-drafted charter and expand the powers of the presidency.
Earlier Wednesday, his spokesman said Turkey was considering holding a referendum on changing from a parliamentary to a presidential system.
But opponents fear it would put too much power in the hands of a leader they already consider too authoritarian.
Erdogan called on all political parties to work on new civilian constitution that would replace the 1980 charter drafted by the military after a coup.
“I hope they will sit down at the table and solve this issue,” he said, adding that he had discussed it at a meeting with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Tuesday.