Çiçek re-elected as Turkish Parliament Speaker

ANKARA

Turkish Parliament voted today Cemil Çiçek as the Parliament Speaker for a second term. DHA photo

Turkey’s Parliament re-elected its speaker for a new term today, with the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Cemil Çicek defending his post against two opposition challengers. 

“A new Constitution is our promise to our nation. This responsibility continues standing on our shoulders,” Çiçek said as he delivered a speech of gratitude to the legislature after being elected. Çiçek has spearheaded an attempt to draft a new charter.

Çiçek was elected with 299 votes in the third session of the voting. According to the Constitution, for a new parliamentary speaker to be elected, one of the candidates must receive two-thirds of all votes during the first two voting sessions, which amounts to 367 votes in total. If such level of support cannot be attained, in the third session, a simple majority, amounting to 276 votes, is sought. If the third session also fails to yield any result, the candidate who receives the highest number of votes becomes the new parliamentary speaker in the fourth voting session.

Çiçek had been expected to remain in office mainly thanks to his efforts in the charter-drafting process. His runner ups were Faruk Bal from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Osman Korutürk from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).