Turkey: Parliament expected to convene by June 24

  11 June 2015    Read: 940
Turkey: Parliament expected to convene by June 24
Turkish parliament is expected to have its first plenary session on June 23 or 24 during which the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected members will take place.
Once the official results are announced by the Supreme Election Council on the state broadcaster TRT, expected either on June 18 or 19, the deputies of the Turkey’s Grand National Assembly would be sworn in within five days.

The parliament members will then elect their speaker between June 29 and July 3.

The Republican People`s Party (CHP)’s freshly-elected Deniz Baykal will preside over the assembly until another speaker is elected to the parliament. Baykal will be given this honor because he is the oldest Member of Parliament at 76.

Also, Baykal met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Foreign Minister Cavusoglu`s residence Wednesday to discuss the Turkish parliament`s functioning amid coalition talks between political parties following the Sunday election.

Candidates for the seat of parliament speaker will submit their applications after the first plenary session and the oath-taking ceremony. The deadline for applications will be either June 27 or 28.

Since none of the four political parties elected to the 25th term of the Turkish parliament achieved a simple majority of 276 members to form a single-party government, the speaker must now be elected by consensus.

The speaker will be elected by secret ballot. Two-thirds of the parliament, or 367 members, are required during the first two rounds of the voting process.

The speaker is expected to get elected in the third or fourth round of the secret vote, considering that each party is likely to vote for their own candidates during the first round.

If the candidates fail to gain absolute majority even in the third round, then a fourth round will be held between the top two names emerging from the third vote.

After the parliament decides on a speaker, the political parties will designate members to the top administrative body in the ratio of their representation at the parliament.

These names will then be submitted for approval on the floor of the general assembly.

On Tuesday, Erdogan accepted the cabinet`s resignation submitted by Prime Minister and AK Party Chairman Ahmet Davutoglu. The cabinet was asked to continue its duties until the formation of a new government.

The Justice and Development (AK) Party came in first in the fourth consecutive general elections Sunday to secure the largest number of votes - 41 percent - and to claim 258 seats in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, 18 short of a simple majority.

The Republican People`s Party (CHP) came in second, claiming 132 seats with 24.96 percent while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) claimed 80 seats in the Grand National Assembly by receiving 16.29 percent of the vote.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples` Democratic Party (HDP) passed the 10 percent threshold with 13.12 percent of the vote to take 80 seats, marking the first time it will enter the parliament as a party.

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