19 June 2013, Wednesday
New York
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CITIZENS TO CONTRIBUTE TO CONSTITUTION VIA E-MAIL AND SMS

  • NewArticle
  • Published:02 Eylül 2011, Cuma
  • Updated:02 Eylül 2011, Cuma

Turkey is soon to mark a historical first in the democratic world. If the ’s request is granted, the Turkish public will be able to contribute to the drafting of the through e-mails and SMS text messaging.

The or is taking action to ensure the public has the opportunity to contribute to the drafting of a new . During the constitution-drafting process, the TBMM Conciliation Commission will be taking millions of individual suggestions made by the nation's citizens into close consideration. From here on out, the Turkish public will not only play a role in referendums but will also have a presence in the constitution-drafting process.
"We are expecting 3-4 million suggestions"
Emphasizing the importance of feedback from nongovernmental organizations as well as from each party, Constitutional Commission Chairman states, "We are expecting to receive at least three to four million responses from the public. The new constitution will become the birth certificate for a great Turkey.
"The public is free to be free"
"Even in South Africa, there were three million suggestions made by the public during the drafting of the new constitution. They were then broken down in to 10,000 comments which were taken into consideration. Mandela had said, 'The public is free to be free.' I believe that this should be the spirit of the constitution." If the AK Party's request for citizens to provide feedback through e-mails and SMS messaging is granted, 74 million citizens will have the opportunity to contribute to the creation of the nation's new constitution.