Turkey opposition chief cool to constitution talks with Erdogan
World
Turkey opposition chief cool to constitution talks with Erdogan
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's main opposition leader, boosted by sweeping local election gains in March, said he is "far off" opening talks with Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party over a new constitution since the president doesn't abide by the existing one.
In an interview with Reuters, Ozgur Ozel, who was elected chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP) last November, also called on the government to once again raise the minimum wage, which continues to lag the soaring inflation rate.
The question of whether and how to rewrite Turkey's constitution could dominate domestic politics this year after Erdogan and his AK Party (AKP) said it is a priority. Analysts say a new document could potentially extend Erdogan's rule beyond 2028 when his current term ends.
"It would be a waste of time to discuss a new constitution while there has been so much violation of the constitution by the ruling party..." Ozel, 49, said at the CHP headquarters in Ankara this week.
"If the ruling party abides by the current constitution, we would get closer to discussing a new one. We are far-off from that point at the moment," he said.
Ozel's comments come after his secularist-centrist CHP won most major cities and made big gains in the AKP's rural heartland in the March 31 local elections, surpassing the conservative ruling party's share of the popular vote for the first time in more than two decades.
