Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş began a round of meetings with political parties on Tuesday, 10 November, about a new parliamentary commission that will monitor the government’s "terror-free Türkiye" (Terörsüz Türkiye) process, Anadolu Agency (AA), İhlas News Agency (İHA) and ANKA reported.
The planned body would follow the process on behalf of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), the country’s parliament, according to AA and İHA.
Update, 11 November, 16:10: Speaker Kurtulmuş met the AK Party group for about 40 minutes on Wednesday afternoon, after his visit to the DEM Party, Anadolu Agency (AA, as published by BirGün) and ANKA (as published by GazeteKalem) reported. He was received by group chair Abdullah Güler and group deputy chairs Abdulhamit Gül, Özlem Zengin, Leyla Şahin Usta, Muhammet Emin Akbaşoğlu and Bahadır Yenişehirlioğlu, according to both agencies. Güler said the AK Party had shared its views with the Speaker on the monitoring commission to be set up in parliament under the Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration, that other party groups would also set out theirs, and that Kurtulmuş would inform the public once the talks were complete, AA and ANKA reported. Asked about the resignation of banking regulator BDDK head Şahap Kavcıoğlu, Güler said he would submit a bill the next day and comment in detail then, according to both agencies; see our report on Kavcıoğlu’s resignation. (Sources: BirGün / AA, GazeteKalem / ANKA.)
Update, 11 November, 15:15: At the DEM Party group, Speaker Kurtulmuş was received by co-chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan and group deputy chair Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, Bianet, Amed TV and ANKA (as carried by Son Dakika) reported; Bianet and Amed TV also named group deputy chair Cengiz Çiçek among those present. The talks were expected to cover the nature, mandate and scope of the planned monitoring commission and the stage the process has reached, according to Bianet and Amed TV. No statements from the DEM Party or AK Party meetings had been reported by two outlets by mid-afternoon. (Sources: Bianet, Amed TV, Son Dakika / ANKA.)
Update, 11 November, 14:20: Speaker Kurtulmuş continued his round of talks on Wednesday, with visits to the DEM Party group at 13:30 and the AK Party group at 14:30 on the planned monitoring commission, Cumhuriyet, 12punto and Amed TV reported. He is due to meet the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on Thursday, 12 November, at 14:00, according to Cumhuriyet and 12punto, while meetings with the Yeni Parti and the İYİ Party are expected next week, Cumhuriyet, 12punto and Yeni Asır reported. No statements from Wednesday’s meetings had been reported by two outlets by early afternoon. (Sources: Cumhuriyet, 12punto, Amed TV.)
Meetings with CHP and Yeni Yol
Kurtulmuş first met Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and then visited the parliamentary group of the Yeni Yol party, where he was received by group deputy chairs Bülent Kaya and Selçuk Özdağ, with Ankara MP Sadullah Ergin also present, AA and İHA reported. ANKA had reported in the morning that the speaker would visit the CHP group at 14:00 and the Yeni Yol group at 15:00.
Speaking at the Yeni Yol meeting, Kurtulmuş said the commission would be set up in parliament as soon as possible, according to İHA. He said the talks with parties would be completed next week and that the size and structure of the commission would be decided after that, AA and İHA reported.
Legal basis
The commission is based on the law on strengthening national solidarity and social integration, which parliament passed on 10 August with 467 votes, AA and İHA reported. Under the law, parliament is to follow the process through this commission, and Kurtulmuş said it would also make recommendations, according to İHA.
Kurtulmuş described the adoption of the law as a victory for democracy, AA reported. He also said the process needed no outside "third eye", as the nation itself, through parliament, was its monitor, according to AA and İHA.
The speaker drew a line between the commission and the government’s own work. He said the executive side of the process rests with a separate board chaired by a vice president, which has already started work, AA and İHA reported.
What happens next
Kurtulmuş said ideas would mature over the coming days, and that he would make a fuller statement once the consultations are finished, İHA reported. No membership numbers or meeting dates for the commission have been announced.
For other business in parliament this autumn, see our report on the week’s agenda in the TBMM.
Sources
- TBMM Başkanı Kurtulmuş, Yeni Yol Grubu’nda TBMM’de kurulacak izleme komisyonuna ilişkin görüşme yaptı (Haberler.com / AA)
- TBMM Başkanı Kurtulmuş, izleme komisyonu için CHP ve Yeni Yol ile görüştü (Haberler.com / İHA)
- TBMM Başkanı Kurtulmuş’tan siyasi partilere ‘izleme komisyonu’ ziyaretleri (Cumhuriyet / ANKA)
Photo: Clemens Holzmeister (1893-1983) Makril / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
