Speaking at the opening session of the 2nd Legislative Year of the 28th Term of the GNAT, President Erdoğan said: “Türkiye deserves a future-looking constitution that sheds light to and expands the horizon of our country and society, not one that lags behind. This noble nation, which defied the death-spewing weapons of the coup plotters on the night of July 15, deserves to crown its struggle for democracy with a civilian constitution.”     President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered the opening speech of the 2nd Legislative Year of the 28th Term of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (GNAT). “I hope that the 2nd Legislative Year of the 28th Term of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye will bring good tidings to all members of parliament as well as our country and nation. I would like to begin by thanking all our citizens who strengthened our democracy further by freely expressing their will at the ballot box in the May 14 and May 28 elections. I would also like to congratulate the Members of Parliament of the 28th Term as they take their seats in the Assembly to represent the national will. I would like to express my gratitude to all members of parliament who served our country under the roof of this great institution since the establishment of the Grand National Assembly on April 23, 1920. I pray for Allah’s mercy on all deceased members of parliament who served this Assembly. I respectfully commemorate Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first Speaker of our Grand National Assembly and the first founder of the national will. On behalf of my nation, I would like to thank all who work hard in any capacity for the development, growth and strengthening of Türkiye. I salute the memory of all martyrs and veterans who, in the last one thousand years, valiantly fought to defend our homeland, the unity of our nation and country, and ensured its survival. May Allah rest the souls of all our martyrs and grant them eternal peace in heaven. “AT EACH INAUGURATION OF THE PARLIAMENT, WE FEEL THE SAME EXCITEMENT OF 103 YEARS AGO” At each inauguration of the Parliament, we feel the same excitement of 103 years ago. In the new legislative year, I wish success to all members of parliament who will serve under this roof and contribute to our country, nation and cities by submitting proposals, expressing their favorable and dissenting opinions, maintaining close contact with the nation they represent, and by showing their commitment to the supremacy of the national will. We expect that your ideas and actions will be worthy of our national ideal, the vision of the Century of Türkiye. Our determination to realize the Century of Türkiye vision will be firm if we maintain a strong tie between our past and our future. Therefore, as the nation and its representatives, we must strongly embrace our common goals by transforming our differences into diversity.  “OUR NEW TASK IS TO GRANT OUR COUNTRY A NEW AND CIVILIAN CONSTITUTION” In the past 21 years, we took steps to address issues regarding our country’s development and democratic infrastructure to prepare the groundwork for greater accomplishments. There were times when the doors of the parliament were locked, members of parliament were oppressed, prime ministers and ministers were executed and a system of tutelage trampled the national will. Praise be to Allah that those times are over. The July 15 Epic, which was jointly written by our parliament and nation is an important turning point in this respect. The Presidential System of Government, which is the culmination of our two-century-old search for a system of government is another important achievement. We crossed another threshold with this transition, which was based on the joint decision of political spheres, the parliament and the nation for the first time. Now we have a new task and a new opportunity before us. It is to grant our country a new and civilian constitution as was the case in the first years of the Republic. This is the only way we can do justice to the principle “SOVEREIGNTY UNCONDITIONALLY BELONGS TO THE NATION", as stated on the plaque behind the Speaker in our General Assembly hall. It is our primary responsibility to save Türkiye from the current constitutional burden that the September 12 coup administration saddled our nation with 41 years ago. It is clear that this constitution, which has been patched with more than 20 major and minor amendments in 41 years, cannot support Türkiye in 2023. We frequently face this fact in many areas and on various occasions, including in the economy, in diplomacy and justice as well as with respect to rights and freedoms. “I INVITE ALL SEGMENTS IN SOCIETY TO JOIN OUR CALL FOR A NEW CONSTITUTION” Every constitution has its own story. Türkiye was introduced to the 1921, 1924, 1961 and 1982 constitutions under the extraordinary circumstances of their times. We believe that the current conditions are ripe to present the nation with a constitution which, for the first time, may be a natural outcome of a functioning democratic system. Turkish democracy is sufficiently mature to end the bad tradition regarding the constitution that began with the coup on May 27, 1960. There is no doubt that the success of the constitution is measured by how inclusive the language is and the extent to which it is embraced by each political party, social segment and every individual as their own. If the constitution does not embrace the common history and future of the state and the nation, it will be of no benefit to the country. I, as the President, and the People's Alliance parties invite all parties, whether they have a group or not, all members of parliament, all segments in society, and anyone who has a constructive opinion or a suggestion on this subject to join our call for a new constitution. This is a call to all who want a truly national, local, civilian and visionary constitution which is not imposed by coup plotters. The length and scope of the text, the content of secondary legislation and its character as the joint manifesto of every member of our nation are topics we can discuss, debate and decide together. “LET'S CROWN THE CENTENNIAL OF OUR REPUBLIC WITH A NEW CONSTITUTION” All we need is good will and an openness to compromise in line with the fundamental values and red lines of our country and nation for the purpose of achieving the Century of Türkiye. I have no doubt that we will overcome all other obstacles once we achieve this goal. Türkiye deserves this constitution which our nation has been yearning for. Türkiye deserves a future-looking constitution that sheds light to and expands the horizon of our country and society, not one that lags behind. This noble nation, which defied the death-spewing weapons of the coup plotters on the night of July 15, deserves to crown its struggle for democracy with a civilian constitution. Let's put a stop to this longing and not delay things any longer. Let's crown the centennial of our Republic with a new constitution. “WE WILL SOON BEGIN TO COMPLETE AND DELIVER HOUSING FOR THE EARTHQUAKE ZONE” Societies are forged into nations and states not only through collective victory, but also through collective grief. Türkiye woke up to such a painful day of collective grief on February 6. The earthquake, which affected 14 million people in 11 cities in our country, took the lives of over 50 thousand people and rendered 850 thousand independent housing units unusable is one of the biggest disasters in our recent history. There is no other state in the world that could have acted as quickly as we have, when faced with a disaster affecting so many people in such a large area, to provide search and rescue followed by emergency aid and shelter services. Nevertheless, there were, and perhaps still are, some disruptions, deficiencies, and delays. Yet the unity, togetherness and solidarity of our nation in the face of this disaster will be remembered for centuries and shall constitute an example to all humanity. As the state, we have devoted all our resources to the rapid revival of the region. We will soon begin to complete and deliver housing for the earthquake zone. We allocated 762 billion liras to the region in this year's additional budget, and this figure will exceed 1 trillion liras in 2024. One of our priorities in the Medium Term Program announced in the first week of September is to heal the wounds in the earthquake zone. It is estimated that the total cost of the earthquake for our country will amount to 105 billion dollars. Such an amount is a huge burden for all economies, including developed countries. “WE ARE DETERMINED TO DO ALL WE CAN TO ELIMINATE THE HIGH COST OF LIVING THAT AILS OUR NATION” Inflation rates around the world have reached their highest levels in the last 60-70 years. There are serious problems in many areas, including in food, energy, trade and employment. No country, including developed nations, can predict the future clearly. Türkiye is inevitably affected by these challenges. After the elections, we adopted a policy that takes the current global economic outlook into account as well as the possible threats we may face in the upcoming period. Our aim is to ensure that our country navigates these difficult times with the least possible loss and, if possible, with the greatest gain. The strategy to achieve growth through investment, employment, production, exports and current account surplus remain as the backbone of our economic policy. We are determined to do all we can to eliminate the high cost of living that ails our nation. We work to solve the urgent problems of our country, in particular regarding the earthquake, and aim to ensure growth. “WE WILL CONTINUE OUR FIGHT WITH DETERMINATION UNTIL THE LAST TERRORIST IS ELIMINATED” We have largely solved, within our borders, the separatist terrorist issue that resulted in a heavy toll in terms of loss of life and economic value in the last 40 years. By eliminating the presence of the terrorist organization outside our borders, we want to completely remove this scourge, which the imperialists have inflicted on the people of the region, from being a source of threat to our country. In this context, we are making preparations to further the historic political and military successes we have achieved in recent years. We will continue our fight with determination until the last terrorist, inside or outside the country, is eliminated. We won’t allow the terrorist organization to shape politics and hinder our country’s blessed march. This morning's attack, in which two villains were neutralized thanks to the timely response of our security units, is the last flutters of terrorism. The scoundrels who targeted the peace and security of our citizens could not achieve their goals, and they will never achieve them. I pray to Allah for a speedy recovery to the police officers injured in the incident and extend my condolences to our brothers and sisters living in Ankara. Our strategy to protect our entire southern border with a security zone that is at least 30 kilometers deep and to strictly monitor the activities beyond this zone remains in place. The new steps we will take are just a matter of preparation, time and the right conditions. That is why the saying “we may turn up suddenly one night” should never fall on deaf ears. “FETO CAN NEVER RAISE ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN IN THIS COUNTRY” The FETO treason network tries to spread the impression that they are still standing strong especially through their militants nestled abroad; this is nothing but whistling past the graveyard. Let me say this clearly. FETO can never raise its ugly head again in this country and it is impossible for similar organizations to commit new forms of treason. Neither our state, nor our nation or the political establishment will allow such a situation. “WE CAN NO LONGER TOLERATE ANY IMPOSITIONS AND NEW CONDITIONS IN OUR FULL MEMBERSHIP PROCESS” We kept every promise we made to the European Union, but they kept almost none of the promises they made to us. Despite changes of administration, there has been no change in the European Union's unfair and partial attitude towards our country, which is incompatible with the principle of pacta sunt servanda. They inflicted injustice upon injustice to our country by disregarding the principles, rules and processes they themselves put forward on paper. Having been kept waiting at the door for 60 years, Türkiye has no expectations from the European Union. They will correct their own mistake if they reverse their injustices, especially the visa imposition, which they use as a veiled sanction against us. If they don't, they will completely lose the right to expect anything from us politically, socially, economically and in terms of the military. If they have any intention of terminating the full membership process, which is now mostly just talk, it is up to them. If need be, we will call the Copenhagen Criteria the Ankara Criteria and proceed on our path for democracy, justice and freedoms. All the reforms we have introduced in the last 21 years regarding rights and freedoms, which have been described as silent revolutions, were implemented not because someone else demanded them, but because our nation deserves the best. I would like to reiterate here that we can no longer tolerate any impositions and new conditions in our full membership process, which we have persistently and patiently brought to this day despite the European Union.