Turk PM Eyes New Constitution Talks After Election

The European Union, which Turkey hopes to join, has long demanded that Ankara overhaul its 1982 military-inspired constitution.

Turkey's government will resume talks with the opposition on drafting a new civilian constitution after March 29 local elections, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

The European Union, which Turkey hopes to join, has long demanded that Ankara overhaul its 1982 military-inspired constitution, blamed for democratic shortcomings and chronic political instability.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party has pledged to overhaul the constitution to curtail the power of the military, expand minority freedoms and modernise the state apparatus.

But it dropped plans to do so, to avoid antagonising the opposition and polarising Turkish society, after narrowly beating off a public prosecutor's attempt to have the party banned for Islamist activities.

"After the election we are going to work for a civilian constitution," Erdogan told a group of students before travelling to the city of Sivas on his election campaign.

The local elections are seen as a referendum on the AK Party.

Erdogan said the main opposition party CHP's decision not to take part in the government's efforts to prepare a new constitution could cause problems.

"When (the CHP) does not appoint a member to the (Constitution Reconciliation) committee, that means they would take the issue to the Constitutional Court which would cause new tensions in the country," Erdogan said.

The EU says overhauling the constitution, drafted after a military coup in 1980, is essential to bring Ankara's rules on political parties and freedoms into line with European standards.

"We do not want to take Turkey into a period of tension again. We will be looking for minimum shared positions starting from April. We would like to see the speaker of parliament involved," Erdogan said.

Parliament speaker Koksal Toptan said he would invite the government and the opposition to seek a consensus after the local elections.