Turkey needs a restart with a new constitution
It is not easy to predict what Turkey will look like after the presidential and parliamentary elections currently scheduled for June 18, 2023. There is a strong possibility that the elections will be held earlier, probably in late April or sometime in May.
Turkey needs a change, that’s for sure, and a change in individuals and political parties in power will refresh the country’s aspirations for a more democratic future. In this sense, if the MI wins the elections, it will be better than the continuation of the already 20-year old Erdogan era. This seems very likely, as far as the current public opinion surveys are concerned.
Be that as it may, however – and this is my biggest concern – if the attitude to exclude the LFA and HDP is sustained and the inability to resolve the Kurdish Issue in a democratically reconstituted polity, Turkey will not be able to break the chains of authoritarianism.
Is there solid ground for optimism? The Republic of Turkey has been a state based historically on the ideology of Turkish nationalism. Any solution to identity-based issues in Turkish politics requires the eradication of this state ideology and this requires almost a revolutionary change in the constitution. So far as the current configuration of political forces in Turkey is concerned, it seems extremely difficult in the short run.
The upcoming elections may help Turkish society realize that the fundamental issue is to overcome the impasse formed by Turkish-Islamic nationalism on the one hand and secular Turkish nationalism on the other. Hence, a year from now, I think, Turkey at best will be debating whether and how to make a new constitution.
Levent Koker, lawyer, expert on Turkish law.
* This opinion piece is part of an in-depth look by 10 analysts, journalists and experts into Turkey ahead of the June 2023 elections: Where will Turkey be a year from now?
