ANKARA - Turkey's ruling party said Monday it plans to present by the end of 2007 the text of a new constitution aimed at expanding human rights in the secular, Muslim-majority nation.
"This new fundamental law which is democratic and respects liberties will be civilian and prepared by the people," Justice and Development Party (AKP) Vice-President Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat said.
"These liberties will be clearly and distinctly defined in the new text," he added.
The previous 1982 constitution -- the legacy of a military coup in 1980 -- has already been revised a number of times in an effort by Ankara to pave the way to join the European Union.
But experts believe that a whole text needs to be replaced with a more liberal document in line with European constitutions.
Constitutional law experts recently gave the AKP the first draft of the new constitution that was examined over the past few days by a commission headed by Firat.
He stressed that the new text will be made public towards the end of the year so that it can be debated by the public and by universities.
He added that even if the new text obtains 367 votes, therefore not requiring a referendum, it will be put up for a referendum.
A new constitution requires a two-thirds vote in the National Assembly, where AKP holds 340 out of 550 seats.
09/03/2007 13:47 GMT