MHP 'will continue to fully support' charter draft: Gov't

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) are in full agreement on the constitutional charter, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş has said after AKP lawmakers' concerns about the constitution prompted the leaders of the two parties to convene to discuss potential revisions.

"The MHP will continue to support this constitutional package, which has already been submitted to parliament," Kurtulmuş said Dec. 27 after the cabinet convened its last meeting in 2016.

"The negotiations on constitutional issues with the MHP have been carried out in a very open and transparent manner from the very beginning. The views of the two leaders are discussed with all details, with no deviations involved, and in full agreement," Kurtulmuş added.

Kurtulmuş's comments came after Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli met late on Dec. 26 to discuss a new draft constitution at the Çankaya Palace in Ankara.  
 
The meeting was scheduled after Yıldırım confirmed that AKP lawmakers had concerns about articles regulating substitute parliamentarians on Dec. 22.

"Some of our friends have confusions about a few points. The articles will be fixed; we will work on it," Yıldırım said, adding that the AKP would seek the approval of the MHP group since the proposal was brought to the parliament as a result of the joint efforts of the two parties.

The meeting was expected to address revisions on the article that would bring in substitute parliamentarians, amid concerns that the move could result in serious altercations or even killings. It was reported that the AKP was working on removing some statements in the article such as "death" or "substitution."

"If we...