The Turkish president visited the Republican People’s Party headquarters for the first time in 18 years
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, head of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), on Tuesday visited the headquarters of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the capital Ankara for the first time in 18 years.
Erdogan held a 90-minute meeting with CHP leader Özgür Özel.
Erdogan’s visit comes more than a month after Özel visited the AKP headquarters and held talks with the Turkish president, following his party’s victory in May’s municipal elections.
Turkish media reported that the visit is expected to open new channels of communication and cooperation between the government and the People’s Party.
Erdogan is calling for a civilian constitution, asserting that the current constitution is a product of the 1980 military coup, but he needs the support of at least 37 opposition lawmakers to put the new constitution to a referendum.
In May, Erdogan responded to Özel’s request to pardon seven generals jailed for their role in the 1997 coup against Necmettin Erbakan’s government.
Erdogan’s visit to the CHP headquarters is the first in 18 years, as he visited the Republican People’s Party when he was prime minister, on the occasion of the opening of the party’s new headquarters under its former president, Deniz Baykal.
