Selahattin Demirtaş made his comments during a parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday.
“Being against military coups is a prerequisite for being a democrat, but it is not sufficient. We can only be democratic if we oppose coups and defend a complete democracy to avoid coups,” Demirtaş said.
“If we are to accomplish all of this, we should crown it with a new, civilian, liberal, and pluralistic constitution. The people who resisted the coup do not deserve a state of emergency. They deserve a liberal constitution.”
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım told reporters late on Monday that the leaders of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Republican People’s Party (CHP), and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) discussed restructuring Turkey’s judiciary through small constitutional changes.
Yıldırım said that the leaders he met with on Sunday were united in the need for a new constitution and, in the short-term, making amendments “in order to remove negative consequences of the collapse in the system.”
When asked if HDP would be invited to join the other three parties in the constitutional discussions, Yıldırım replied, “There is no limitation. They may perfectly join the works.”
Demirtaş had previously called the failure to invite HDP to the meeting “senseless.”
Speaking on Tuesday, Demirtaş accused the government of failing to take the opportunity of the coup to move towards democracy. He called on Ankara and the PKK to rise above their differences saying that “a braver politics, rhetoric and action” are needed at this time.
“This opportunity should not be missed. As politicians, we need to display virtue and maturity to resolve our problems at a peace-making table.”
