HÜDA PAR Chairman Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu has called for the drafting of a completely new constitution, saying Türkiye should move beyond the legal and political legacy of the 1980 military coup.

In a message marking the 46th anniversary of the Sept. 12, 1980 coup, Yapıcıoğlu said Türkiye needed a constitution that was “completely new and domestic” in its structure, spirit, wording and style.

“What we need today is a completely new and domestic constitution in its skeleton, spirit, words, and style,” Yapıcıoğlu said in a message shared on social media.

The HÜDA PAR leader acknowledged that many of the wounds inflicted by the military takeover had healed over the past 46 years, but argued that the 1982 Constitution adopted under military rule continued to constrain the country.

He described the constitution as a lingering “straitjacket” and said its continued existence was a political failure that needed to be addressed.

“The fact that the 1982 Constitution, the source of many structural problems, is still in force is a major shame that the political institution must confront,” Yapıcıoğlu said, arguing that amendments made over the years had not removed what he described as the document’s “tutelary” character.

Yapıcıoğlu said the political establishment and the Turkish Grand National Assembly had a responsibility to replace the existing constitutional framework with one centered on rights, freedoms and justice.

“Making a freedom-oriented, just, and domestic constitution compatible with the beliefs and values of the people is the duty and debt of honor of the political institution and the TBMM toward our noble nation,” he said.

He added that parliament had both the authority and the capacity to draft and adopt a new constitution.

Yapıcıoğlu’s remarks come amid longstanding political debate in Türkiye over replacing the 1982 Constitution, which was adopted following the 1980 military coup and has undergone numerous amendments since then.

Yapıcıoğlu concluded his message by calling on political and social groups across Türkiye to participate in preparing a new constitutional framework.

He said the new document should not reflect the interests of any particular segment of society but instead represent the “common voice and sensitivities” of the nation.

“On the anniversary of the September 12 coup, I invite everyone to build together a new constitution that reflects not the voice of a particular segment but the common voice and sensitivities of the entire nation, and that fully establishes justice,” he said.

The Sept. 12, 1980 military coup remains a defining episode in modern Turkish political history. The military dissolved parliament and political parties, imposed widespread restrictions on political activity and presided over a period marked by mass arrests and serious human rights violations. (ILKHA)