Palace advisor's 'new constitution' statement: 'Not possible without a referendum'

As debate on a new constitution continues, Chief Advisor to the President Mehmet Uçum has made a striking statement about the referendum. Uçum noted that the new constitution must be submitted to a referendum even if it is approved by 400 or more votes, and outlined his reasons for his statement.

Sharing a post on the subject from his social media account, Uçum used the following statements:

In the routine functioning of democracies, the public does not express its expectations regarding the constitution through legal language. To determine the public's constitutional demands, the legal equivalent of all political, economic, cultural, and justice-related visions for change or development must be examined. If laws or secondary legislation are insufficient to meet the public's expectations for betterment in the system, the need for constitutional norms arises. This, in turn, must be understood as the public's demand for a constitution. In other words, the task of democratic politics is to translate the public's desire for a more just and well-functioning order—regardless of the specific issue—as the need for constitutional change, especially in terms of demands that cannot be met by sub-constitutional norms. This is the essence of the matter.

If the public's expectations for solutions to general and current problems require improved rules and institutions, some of these emerge as constitutional demands due to their normative nature. For example, the public's expectation of a price ceiling when necessary to combat high prices should be considered a constitutional demand. The public's desire for the right to a decent and decent life can be embodied by including such a right in the constitution. Similarly, the public's wish that no one be in financial distress can be translated into guarantees such as minimum subsistence support or the right to a minimum income. The public's desire for greater influence of the will of the voters in parliamentary election processes can be considered a constitutional rule and institution that includes the right of recall. The public's desire for greater involvement in legislative processes can be considered a demand for the right and authority to propose laws, which should be enshrined in the constitution. Numerous examples can be given for every field and in every way. As can be seen, the view that "there is no demand for a new constitution on the public's agenda" is a superficial observation that ignores the revolutionary dynamic of the public's demands and their future perspective, lacking any factual basis.

Therefore, a new constitution is essentially a fundamental need created by the people's constant and general vision of a better system. Therefore, a distinction is made between a political constitution and a legal constitution. A political constitution is a constitution that articulates the people's vision of the system and order, as well as their demands and needs for a better outcome. The elements of a political constitution can be seen more clearly in the programs of those who engage in "demand politics," the democratic and legitimate representatives of the people. A new constitution is legally established when the political constitution proposed by the people is legally translated, adopted as a comprehensive law by the Assembly of the people's representatives, and enacted with the people's approval.

REFERENDUM EMPHASIS

In a democratic order, as long as the people consistently desire better outcomes for the system, and this has always been the case, a new constitution will always be a regular and dynamic agenda item for the people. Therefore, Parliament, as the representative constituent will, must draft the new constitution taking into account the people's permanent constitutional agenda and the necessity of obtaining approval from the people, the primary constituent will. Because the people can only demonstrate the harmony between the constitution they envision and the new constitution adopted by Parliament through their approval.

Even if the new constitution is approved by 400 or more votes in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, there are two main reasons why a referendum is necessary:

The first reason is the necessity of completing democratic legitimacy with the approval of the people, which is the primary founding will.

The second reason is the necessity of the people's right to monitor whether a legal text that is in line with the people's vision of a political constitution has been adopted by the Parliament.

"Final word: There can be no new constitution without a referendum."

Source: NEWS CENTER