ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - In his Eid al-Adha message on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan focused on unity and peace as political momentum builds around a potential new constitution following the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) decision to end its armed struggle.
“We will work tirelessly until the Century of Turkey becomes the century of brotherhood, democracy, prosperity, development, and peace throughout our entire country,” Erdogan said in a video message posted on X. The Century of Turkey is a foreign policy plan that began on Turkey’s centenary in 2023 and aims to promote regional peace, security, and economic development.
“We will embrace all 86 million people on this path without any discrimination,” he added, referring to the population of Turkey.
The PKK, which was founded to advocate for Kurdish cultural and political rights, announced its dissolution and an end to its four-decade armed struggle on May 12, responding to a call from founder Abdullah Ocalan to end the conflict that has claimed around 40,000 lives and instead pursue a political solution.
Ankara has welcomed the move and demanded the PKK surrender its arms, but has been criticized for moving slowly.
Analysts argue that a motivation for Erdogan in the renewed effort for peace may be to garner Kurdish backing for a new constitution that could pave the way to him remaining in power. At the end of May, Erdogan announced that he has tasked a group of legal experts with making preparations for a new charter.
Erdogan’s government ally, Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), addressed the issue in his Eid al-Adha speech.
“We hope that after the holiday, the Turkish Grand National Assembly will undertake an important task and that work will begin to prepare Turkey for the future,” he said.
He called for replacing Turkey’s coup-era constitution with a new charter that reflects “the opinion of all political parties” and is framed “within the understanding of a founding constitution.”
Erdogan has led Turkey for 22 years, first elected as prime minister in 2003 and then as president since 2014. Under the current constitution, he is barred from running again. Turkey is scheduled to hold a presidential election no later than 2028.
